Home Alone 2 director Chris Columbus has expressed his desire to remove US President Donald Trump's cameo from the iconic film, calling it a "curse" and an "albatross”. Also read: When Donald Trump demanded a role in Home Alone 2 in exchange of a shoot in his hotel
Chris Columbus calls Trump cameo ‘an albatross’
During an interview with San Francisco Chronicle, Chris Columbus shared that he wishes he could remove Donald Trump‘s cameo from the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
He said, “I can’t cut it. If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country. I’ll be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so I’ll have to go back to Italy or something.”
Chris, with Italian ancestry, was born and raised in the US. He was sarcastically referring to the Donald Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
Back in 2023, Donald Trump shared that Chris was “begging” him to appear in the film. “I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time. People call me whenever it is aired. Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth. That cameo helped make the movie a success … Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself,” he posted on Truth Social.
Now, Chris has responded to Trump’s post, saying, “We screened the film in Chicago, and when that moment came onscreen the audience went crazy. They cheered and they cheered and they thought it was hilarious. I think I know a lot about comedy, but I don’t, obviously, because I never thought that was going to be considered hilarious. Years later, it’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. What’s going through this guy’s mind? He said I was lying. I’m not lying. He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there’s no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie. But we were desperate to get the Plaza Hotel. But it’s there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.”
More about the cameo
{{/usCountry}}Now, Chris has responded to Trump’s post, saying, “We screened the film in Chicago, and when that moment came onscreen the audience went crazy. They cheered and they cheered and they thought it was hilarious. I think I know a lot about comedy, but I don’t, obviously, because I never thought that was going to be considered hilarious. Years later, it’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. What’s going through this guy’s mind? He said I was lying. I’m not lying. He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there’s no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie. But we were desperate to get the Plaza Hotel. But it’s there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.”
More about the cameo
{{/usCountry}}In the film, little Kevin -- played by Macaulay Culkin and again separated from his parents -- struggles to find his way through the gilded hotel. He stops a man in a long black overcoat and red tie to ask him for directions to the lobby. “Down the hall and to the left,” replies Trump. Actor Matt Damon claimed in a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the businessman would allow films to be shot in his buildings as long as he received a part. Trump is thus -- most of the time playing himself -- in the credits of some 20 films and series, including Zoolander and Sex and the City.
Chris’ family comedy Home Alone (1990) starred Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, a 10-year-old who fends off home invaders after his parents accidentally leave him alone at Christmas. The movie, which cost $18 million to make, was a huge hit, pulling in more than $475 million.