Macaulay Culkin Reveals He Was Offered A Lead Spot On The Big Bang Theory

Published on August 9, 2018.

E! Online

Macaulay Culkin could have made his big comeback in Hollywood on The Big Bang Theory, but it seems he really wasn’t interested.

The Home Alone actor revealed in a new interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that CBS lobbied hard to have him take a lead spot in the show while it was in production, and although they tried three times, he continued to pass.

“They pursued me for The Big Bang Theory,” Culkin said. “And I said no. It was kind of like, the way the pitch was, ‘Alright, these two astrophysicist nerds and a pretty girl lives with them. Yoinks!’ That was the pitch. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m cool, thanks.’ And then they came back at me again, and I said, ‘No, no, no. Again, flattered, but no.’ Then they came back at me again, and even my manager was like twisting my arm.”

The series premiered back in 2007 and is heading into its twelfth season with the show’s leads: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar all having negotiated for a whopping $1 million each per episode since season eight.

The 37-year-old acknowledged that he missed out on a big payday, but still thinks it is for the better that he didn’t accept the part although he did not specify which role he was offered. “I’d have hundreds of millions of dollars right now if I did that gig,” Culkin said. “At the same time, I’d be bashing my head against the wall.”

Culkin recently started his own podcast with comedian Matt Cohen, titled Bunny Ears.