Brenda Song Says She and Macaulay Culkin Share ‘Trauma' From Child Acting
Though Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin's similar beginnings as child actors was not among the first things they bonded over, the star of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody revealed that she and her partner later connected over shared 'trauma.'
During a Monday episode of podcast Sibling Revelry with Kate and Oliver Hudson, Song—who found fame as a young actor on the Disney Channel—reflected on 'certain anxieties' she and Culkin share stemming from working in the spotlight at a young age, and discussed how it has impacted their relationship.
'It wasn't one of the first things we connected on, but I think there was this unspoken understanding that we've had certain trauma that we both share that we didn't even quite realize stems from us being child actors,' Song said. 'Certain anxieties or stressors or even triggers that you don't realize ... you don't realize, as a kid, how much that affects you as an adult.'
The Last Showgirl star went on to claim that she and Culkin had 'very different' experiences despite both growing up in Hollywood. Culkin, who shot to movie stardom and Christmas royalty after starring in Chris Columbus' 1990 classic Home Alone, was 'the most famous child actor in the world.'
'[It] impacted how we look at our relationship with the industry now, how he looks at it, and how I look at it,' Song continued. 'I always say, like, I've been in this business for 33 years, and I still love it. Something must be wrong with me.'
'It's also been really nice, though, to have someone who truly just really understands,' the actress added.
'He gets what I do on a different kind of level, and it's been so nice. I've never had that before,' she continued, noting that she had never dated an actor before.
Song is one of the Disney Channel's most beloved alums, having starred in its widely popular sitcom The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and film Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. Meanwhile, Culkin's work as a child actor includes the Home Alone series and Richie Rich.
The couple began dating in 2017 after working together in Changeland, Seth Green's directorial debut. They have since welcomed two children together and got engaged in 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Why ‘Materialists' director Celine Song thinks love is a marketplace
In Celine Song's latest movie 'Materialists,' a New York City matchmaker navigates the politics of love. 'You're not ugly — you just don't have money,' says Lucy, portrayed by Dakota Johnson, exhaling cigarette smoke into the New York City air from a fire escape. More Information 'Materialists' (R) is in theaters Friday, June 13. Song's debut film, 2023's 'Past Lives,' rocked audiences with its soft yet devastating spotlight on what it's like to love your husband and your childhood sweetheart the way you love adjoining parts of your own soul. But her follow-up feature takes on a whole new love triangle, one plagued by questions of vanity, class and self-worth. Now for the second time in a row, the writer-director delivers on the wounding nuances of modern love. Like Johnson's Lucy, Song worked for a matchmaking agency in New York. Her clientele was more honest with her about what they wanted in a partner than with their own friends and therapists, she said. And their priorities — height, money and a low body mass index — are the ugly truths central to 'Materialists.' The Chronicle met with Song at the Langham hotel in Manhattan the day after the 'Materialists' premiere to discuss love, commodification and where the two meet. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: A big theme in this movie is value. Where does the idea derive from in your own life? A: If somebody says, 'I really need to date somebody who's above 6 feet tall,' it all comes down to, 'Because that makes me feel valuable — that makes me feel like I am worthy of love from somebody who everybody considers valuable.' It comes down to that: 'I don't want to walk into a party with somebody who is 5-foot-6.' So I think that's why the conversation about value really showed up. I worked as a matchmaker for six months, and I learned so much about how people describe the person they want to be partnered with for the rest of their life. It's amazing, because it's all numbers: height, weight, income. Q: How would you describe the characters' relationship with self-love, self-worth? A: I think that all three of them are struggling with self-worth, which is common in modern life and modern dating. Another part of the problem is this objectification and commodification of the self and of each other. In 'Pride and Prejudice' or in Victorian romance, this marriage market used to happen in salons or garden parties, where people talk about everybody's value: their worth in silver, their property. That kind of marketplace has existed forever. But now, this objectification and commodification has become so accessible and global. (Song gestures to her phone screen.) Q: I recently saw photos of Kris Jenner's new face — not sure if you saw too. I'm curious what you think about the access to plastic surgery and how it bears weight on dating and love. A: It's terrifying. I feel like there is a really insidious language around taking care of yourself or 'self-improvement.' But this language is really about increasing your value in the marketplace. To me, what's really scary is how cheap Botox is getting. And what's insidious is that it's like, well, everybody is doing it. Those are your competitors in the dating market, and they're doing it. So aren't you doing it? Q: Two characters in 'Materialists' have had plastic surgery and struggle with self-worth, but they're also trying to find love. Do you think you have to have self-love before you find a partner, or are you someone who believes 'We can figure this out together'? A: I met my husband when I was 24, so we were too young to really get to this world of value. I don't know if anybody is that secure when you're in your 20s. But what's amazing is that when you ask somebody who loves you why they love you, their answer will never have anything to do with your market value. It's never going to have anything to do with height or weight. It will always be like, 'I just do.' It's just simple. So in that way, I already know that the marketplace is not real. But now you have access to the global dating market on Instagram, so the problem is that now you're going to start evaluating and objectifying yourself in relation to everybody else, which is really common. Q: So much of this movie is about the math of dating and the failure of that math. What do you think ultimately brings people together? A: It's completely mysterious to me why one person feels something for another person. All you can hope for is that you do, and part of that is being open to that person. It's much easier to be cynical, isn't it? But the truth is that it's a very brave thing to say, 'No, I want love. I believe in it. It might be right around the corner.' And the truth is that it might be right around the corner. That's actually true. Q: Both of your movies, 'Materialists' and 'Past Lives,' explore love triangles that can't last, so you set up a portion of your audience for disappointment. Do you like doing that? A: I want it to be a revelation for the audience members themselves. It usually speaks more about who you are as a person watching it than it does about the characters. Many people might walk away from the film being like, 'I would have made that decision differently.' But the truth is, Lucy is not you. You're you. Q: What hope is there for single people? A: Well, there's advice in the film. … When love happens and is offered to you, you just need the bravery to be able to say yes. I think that's the only thing we can hope for.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sabrina Carpenter Poses Naked and Rocks Rapunzel Hair on Shocking NSFW 'Rolling Stone' Cover
Sabrina Carpenter bared all — literally — for her new Rolling Stone magazine cover The pop star, who opened up about her new album Man's Best Friend, wore next to nothing for the shoot In an October 2024 interview with Elle, the singer responded to comments about her lingerie-forward wardrobeSabrina Carpenter is giving everyone a show. The "Espresso" singer, 26, stripped down for Rolling Stone's Summer Issue, and the look is so jaw-droppingly sexy that it tops her past skin-baring moments. Published on June 12, the cover shows the Grammy winner kneeling while nude — save for lace-trimmed thigh-high socks and her hair, which is giving some serious mane character energy. For the shoot, Carpenter's '60s soda-can curls were transformed into Rapunzel-level tresses that strategically covered her nude figure. She sported her signature glam with big, feathery eyelashes and rosy cheeks. Accompanying Carpenter's Rolling Stone cover story, in which she opens up about making Man's Best Friend (her new album comes out on Aug. 29), are images of the former Disney Channel star clad in lacy lingerie looks. One of shots sees her posing in a floral lace-up corset and wood stilettos while another has her looking like well, a rated-R Disney princess in a blue gingham dress, unbuttoned to show off her matching briefs and bra. Not too long ago, Carpenter kicked off her new era with her single "Man Child," which she teased with a NSFW trailer that saw her hitchhiking in denim booty shorts. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Provocative looks have become synonymous with Carpenter's brand, especially since she embarked on her Short n' Sweet chapter last summer. And while the pop star has become one of fashion's most recognizable stars, her style has been hit with criticism for being too sexual. Though, she hasn't so much as bat an eyelid to the scrutiny. In an October 2024 interview with Elle, she said that doesn't let the critics get to her because she simply doesn't pay attention to it. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! 'Someone told me this, whenever I would get upset or feel like I'm the only one getting criticized for something other people are able to do seemingly so freely: I'm the one that's seeing all the negative shit about myself. My friends don't see that.' Yet, when she saw criticism on her 2025 Met Gala look on social media this past May, she wasn't so shy about clapping back. "Damn I f----- up," she said in response to an X user lamenting about her pantless Louis Vuitton look. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Materialists' review: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans isn't the glossy rom-com many expected
Calling Celine Song's Materialists a rom-com is oversimplifying what we're really getting from the film. Starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, the movie takes the fantasy and tropes about love and relationships that we've grown accustomed to in classic rom-com films, and presents them in the real world context we sometimes like to avoid. It's the way that Song is able to tell a story that evaluates human behaviour in an honest way that makes her work stand out, and compels you to go on the journey she's presenting. And that's very much the case with Materialists. Materialists release date: June 13Director & writer: Celine SongCast: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris EvansRuntime: 116 In Materialists Johnson plays a matchmaker in New York City. While she's certainly living beyond her means with her $80,000 salary, her job is to match the city's elite. But no matter your income bracket, the desperation to find a partner is alive and well. And Lucy understands how human beings evaluate and value each other. When Lucy attends a wedding of two of her clients she meets Harry (Pascal) who's classified as a "unicorn," a particularly "high value" bachelor. He's rich, handsome and desirably tall. But just as the two meet, in comes John (Evans), Lucy's ex who's working as a waiter at the wedding. John is the opposite of Harry. He's broke, living with roommates, struggling in his efforts to be a theatre actor. He's everything Lucy knows she doesn't want as she math-ing her best partner, but their magnetic connection is undeniable. Through both Lucy's own love life and matchmaking for her clients, Song's story dives into the commodification of ourselves, and others, that guides our connections. If you're someone who was blown away by Song's previous film Past Lives, Materialists is adding to the discussion about relationship, but in a different way. We've all watched rom-coms and fell for the fantasy of meeting the perfect person who will sweep us off our feet, but what Materialists does is shine a light on how many of those depictions of love and romance have twisted how we approach finding love. Amplified by things like dating apps, social media and other ways to commodify human beings. A simpler version of this story would have been cynical about how love is hard, heartbreak hurts and romance ends in disappointment, but Song's movie is more complex than that. A testament to her storytelling, she's able to weave back and forth just over that line of reimagining rom-com tropes in a real world context, but never completely disregarding how impactful romance is. The cast certainly works for these character, but because they're so beloved by many and have a rich history with fans, their presence essentially disarms you, in a way that helps to take in and feel the impact of Song's evaluation of how people objectify each other. At one point in the movie Song introduces Lucy finding out about sexual assault between her clients. While a very real risk, narratively it leaves questions about how it's handled as a plot device, and how Johnson's character would be impacted by that result to her matchmaking work. While not the glossy package that was sold in the movie's trailer, and particular scenes are more impactful than the full picture of Materialists, it's certainly an intriguing film that presents romance in a way you likely won't be expecting.
