Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor known for his roles in Scream 4, Lords of Chaos, You Can Count on Me, Columbus, and M. Night Shyamalan's Signs. He is the youngest brother of actors Macaulay and Kieran Culkin.

Rory Culkin
Born
Rory Hugh Culkin

(1989-07-21) July 21, 1989 (age 35)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Spouse
Sarah Scrivener
(m. 2018)
FatherKit Culkin
RelativesMacaulay Culkin (brother)
Kieran Culkin (brother)
Bonnie Bedelia (aunt)

Early life

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Rory Hugh Culkin was born July 21, 1989, in New York City, the youngest of seven children born to Christopher Cornelius "Kit" Culkin, a former Broadway stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup, a native of North Dakota who met Kit in 1974 while working as a road traffic controller in Sundance, Wyoming.[1][2] Culkin's siblings include Shane (b. 1976), Dakota (1979–2008),[3] Macaulay (b. 1980), Kieran (b. 1982), Quinn (b. 1984), and Christian (b. 1987).[1] He also had a paternal half-sister, Jennifer (b. 1970), who died in 2000.[4] Culkin's paternal aunt is actress Bonnie Bedelia.[5]

Career

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Culkin began acting by playing alongside his elder brothers, among them Macaulay and Kieran, often as the younger versions of their characters. He first appeared in a photograph as a baby in The Good Son (1993), then as Young Richie in Ri¢hie Ri¢h (1994) (Richie being played by his brother Macaulay) and in 2002, played 10-year-old Igby in Igby Goes Down (17-year-old Igby was played by his older brother Kieran).

Culkin's breakthrough role was in You Can Count on Me (2000), opposite Laura Linney, a role for which he received much praise and a Young Artist Award. Since then, Culkin has appeared in numerous films, including Signs (2002), in which he starred alongside Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix and Electrick Children, in which he starred alongside Julia Garner.

As a teenager, Rory started moving into more independent films. He took a leading role in Mean Creek (2004), a film about a group of teenagers that plan revenge on a bully. The entire youth cast won an Independent Spirit Award for this film. He appeared in other independent films, such as The Chumscrubber (2005), Down in the Valley (2005), and Hick (2011).[6]

Since his Young Artist Award win for You Can Count on Me, Culkin has received three more nominations. He had a guest role in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Manic", and in the episode "Azoth the Avenger Is a Friend of Mine" of The Twilight Zone alongside Patrick Warburton. In May 2010, Culkin was cast for the slasher film Scream 4,[7] which was released on April 15, 2011. Culkin was cast as Euronymous in the biographical film Lords of Chaos (2018) which tells the story about the events of the Norwegian black metal scene and the band Mayhem.

In 2014, Culkin starred as the titular character in Gabriel. Culkin was commended by critics,[8][9][10] and was subsequently nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.[11][12]

In 2016, he appeared in the horror movies Welcome to Willits and Jack Goes Home.

In 2023, Culkin guest-appeared in Amazon Prime Video series Swarm.[13]

Personal life

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In April 2018, Culkin married cinematographer Sarah Scrivener in New Orleans, Louisiana.[14] Their wedding was officiated by Paul Heyman on the eve of WrestleMania 34.[15] Scrivener and Culkin had met already in 2009 while working on Scre4m, the fourth film of the Scream franchise. In 2019, they collaborated on the Showtime series City on a Hill and in 2022, they worked together on a music video that Scrivener directed, produced and filmed for musician Quinn Murphy.[16][17]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 The Good Son Richard Evans Cameo
1994 Richie Rich Young Richie Rich
2000 You Can Count on Me Rudy Prescott
2002 Signs Morgan Hess
Igby Goes Down 10-Year-Old Igby
2003 It Runs in the Family Eli Gromberg
2004 Mean Creek Sam Merric
2005 The Zodiac Johnny Parish
The Chumscrubber Charlie Stifle
Down in the Valley Lonnie
2006 The Night Listener Pete D. Logand
2008 Chasing 3000 Roger
Lymelife Scott
2010 Twelve Chris
2011 Hick Clement
Scream 4 Charlie Walker
2012 Electrick Children Clyde
2014 Gabriel Gabriel
2015 Intruders Dan Cooper
2016 Jack Goes Home Jack
Welcome to Willits Possum
2017 Columbus Gabriel
The Song of Sway Lake Ollie
Bullet Head Gage
2018 Lords of Chaos Euronymous
2020 Materna Gabe
2021 The Last Thing Mary Saw The Intruder
2024 5lbs of Pressure Mike

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Off Season Jackson Mayhew Television film
2001–2002 The Job Davey McNeil 2 episodes
2002 The Twilight Zone Craig Hansen Episode: "Azoth the Avenger Is a Friend of Mine"
2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Joe Blaine Episode: "Manic"
2017–2018 Sneaky Pete Gavin 2 episodes
2018 Waco David Thibodeau Main role
Castle Rock Willie 4 episodes
2019 City on a Hill Clay Roach 5 episodes
2020 The Expecting Tyler 9 episodes
50 States of Fright Older Aiden 2 episodes
2021 Halston Joel Schumacher Episode: "Becoming Halston"
2022 Under the Banner of Heaven Samuel Lafferty Main role
2023 Swarm Marcus Episode: "Stung"
Black Mirror Kappa Episode: "Beyond the Sea"

References

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  1. ^ a b Purgavie, Dermot (November 9, 1996). "The Father from Hell?". The Daily Telegraph. pp. 23–24, 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (October 6, 2021). "Martinis and Red Meat With Kieran Culkin: The 'Succession' Star on Childhood, Co-Stars and Fame". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022.
  3. ^ Chernikoff, Leah (December 11, 2008). "Macaulay Culkin's sister, Dakota Culkin, dies after being struck by a car". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022.
  4. ^ Gawley, Paige (October 14, 2021). "Kieran Culkin Is 'Game' to Have His Brother Macaulay and Other Siblings on 'Succession' (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Bandler, Michael J. (October 25, 1992). "Character Study Despite Her Laurels, Bonnie Bedelia Wonders When Stardom Will Arrive". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Uncle Creepy (21 May 2010). "Just in! Possible Casting News for Scream 4". DreadCentral. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. ^ Uncle Creepy (28 May 2010). "Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin Join Scream 4". Dread Central. Archived from the original on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (17 June 2015). "Gabriel review – Rory Culkin proves fine guide on headtrip through bipolar mind". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  9. ^ Gold, Daniel M. (18 June 2015). "Review: 'Gabriel' Stars Rory Culkin as a Young Man With Mental Illness". New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  10. ^ Abele, Robert (25 June 2015). "Review: Following Rory Culkin and 'Gabriel' on a fraught mission". Los Angeles Time. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor - Past Recipients". Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (22 October 2015). "'Diary Of A Teenage Girl' Leads Gotham Independent Film Award Nominations – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  13. ^ Harry, Aaliyah (21 March 2023). "Everyone Is Talking About Prime Video's Swarm – Here's Everything You Need To Know". Grazia. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  14. ^ Kashner, Sam (6 November 2018). "How Kieran Culkin Survived Childhood and Made Peace with the Family Profession". HWD. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  15. ^ Baillie, Katie (9 April 2018). "Macaulay Culkin's brother Rory had WWE's Paul Heyman officiate his wedding". Metro. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  16. ^ Lentz, Kelsey (June 15, 2023). "Who Is Rory Culkin's Wife? All About Sarah Scrivener". People.com. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  17. ^ "Sarah Scrivener at IMDb". www.imdb.com. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
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