Home Alone Stars Who Have Found Themselves In Trouble With The Law

Trigger warning: The following article contains mentions of drug use and domestic violence.

The beloved 1990 comedy "Home Alone" and, to a slightly lesser extent, its 1992 sequel "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," remain holiday classics in the eyes of movie lovers the world over. Sure, there are actually six "Home Alone" movies, including the 2021 reboot that had social media in a rage, but it's those first two from the early '90s that have really endured as countless families' Christmastime go-tos. After all, their premise is simple, but very effective. Who needs the cops when you have an ingenious eight-year-old who is more than capable of making life a living nightmare for the burglars trying to rob his family's house? Ironically, though, some of the film's actors have had run-ins with the police in real life.

Indeed, a number of "Home Alone" stars have landed themselves in some pretty hot legal water in the years since the original Christmas classic hit cinemas. Others, to be fair, found themselves in moderately warm legal water at worst. And at least one individual who cameoed in "Home Alone 2" now has close to three dozen felony convictions on his record (we'll give you three guesses who that is). With all that in mind, here are the "Home Alone" stars who have been in trouble with the law.

Original "Home Alone" lead Macaulay Culkin, who starred as lovable protagonist Kevin McCallister, has been fairly open about his past — particularly, the toll childhood fame and his difficult upbringing took on him. And in 2004, more than a decade removed from the original "Home Alone" duology, the former child star found himself back in the spotlight for a less-than-ideal reason.

That September, Culkin — who has a complicated relationship with the films that made him a household name — was arrested in Oklahoma for possession of marijuana, as well as unprescribed Xanax and clonazepam pills, per CNN. In June 2005, he pleaded guilty to multiple drug possession charges and received a one-year deferred sentence per charge, per CBS News. Years later, Culkin set the record straight on that time in his life, pushing back on the sensationalized — or otherwise flat-out incorrect — reports that surfaced regarding his drug use. "I was not pounding six grand of heroin every month or whatever," he told The Guardian in 2016, adding, "The thing that bugged me was tabloids wrapping it all in this weird guise of concern. No, you're trying to shift papers."

Later still, during a 2020 interview with Esquire, Culkin shed even further light on his past relationship with drugs, explaining it was one that he had long since left in the past. "I played with some fire, I guess is the best way to put it. At the same time, I've never been to rehab or anything like that. I've never had to clean out that way," he said. The actor went on to share that he no longer used recreational drugs. "I do love them. They're like old friends. But sometimes you outgrow your friends," Culkin said.

The villains of the first two "Home Alone" movies were Harry Lyme and Marv Murchins, the pair of burglars collectively known as the Wet Bandits – later the Sticky Bandits – played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, respectively. And while Pesci made a career out of playing criminals in everything from "GoodFellas" to "The Irishman," Stern would actually be the one to find himself in a sticky situation with the law in real life.

On Jan. 10, 2025, Stern was allegedly caught up in a prostitution sting at a hotel in Camarillo, California. The actor was given a ticket for one misdemeanor count of soliciting prostitution, though was not actually taken into police custody, per TMZ. A spokesperson for the local district attorney's office later told People that Stern had been formally charged with the crime on Jan. 12. At the time of writing, this is still a developing case. However, Fox 11 Los Angeles explains that, under state law, Stern faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if found guilty.

In the first two "Home Alone" films, the late John Heard starred as Peter McCallister, father of Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister and husband of Catherine O'Hara's Kate McCallister. And while managing to accidentally leave your young son all by himself not once, but twice, is certainly bad, some of Heard's non-fictional behavior (and alleged behavior) regarding family life was frankly a lot more concerning.

In November 1991, a year after "Home Alone" came out and a year before its sequel premiered, Heard was arrested and charged with third degree assault for allegedly slapping fellow actor Melissa Leo, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his eldest son, who was four years old at the time, per The Buffalo News. It's unclear if anything came of this particular case, as details regarding follow-up proceedings are scarce. Still, the Heard-Leo saga was far from over — and Heard would have criminal convictions on his record by the time all was said and done.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, a judge awarded Leo full custody of her and Heard's son in 1994, citing Heard's alleged history of violence. Fast-forward to late 1996, when Leo pressed harassment and trespassing-related charges against Heard, stating — among other things — that he had inundated her with phone calls. As reported by The Baltimore Sun, Heard was ultimately found guilty of telephone misuse and trespassing on Leo's property in March 1997. However, he was found not guilty of trespassing at their son's school. Heard was also acquitted of charges related to harassing Leo and her then-boyfriend, John Russell, as well as assaulting Russell. Nevertheless, the "Home Alone" actor was sentenced to a year a half of probation in May 1997, per The Baltimore Sun.

In the first two "Home Alone" movies, Devin Ratray portrayed Buzz McCallister, the bullying older brother of main protagonist Kevin. In 2021, Ratray even reprised his famous early-'90s role in the aforementioned maligned reboot, "Home Sweet Home Alone." But just one month after the movie was released that November, Ratray was in police custody behind some rather serious domestic violence charges.

According to ABC27, Ratray was arrested and charged with domestic assault and battery by strangulation in December 2021. According to court documents paraphrased by the news outlet, the actor physically attacked his then-girlfriend in their Oklahoma City hotel room after becoming angry that she gave his autograph to a pair of fans at a restaurant without charging them first. Per OKC Fox, the case was closed in February 2024, when Ratray agreed to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for a three-year suspended sentence, meaning he wouldn't have to spend any time behind bars — provided he stayed clean.

In lieu of prison, Ratray was ordered to attend anti-domestic violence classes and submit to a drug and alcohol screening, as he had reportedly been drinking the night of the incident. He also had to reimburse the court and, perhaps most importantly, was barred from having any contact with his victim.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Long before he was President of the United States, then-real estate mogul Donald Trump had a brief but memorable cameo in 1992's "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," sharing a humorous exchange with Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister in the lobby of The Plaza Hotel. Of course, Trump remembers his cameo a lot differently than the film's director, Chris Columbus. Columbus alleges that Trump strong-armed his way into the film, since he owned The Plaza at the time. For his part, Trump not only claims that Columbus and the producers "begged" him to be in the movie (via BBC), but also insists that his cameo helped make "Home Alone 2" a success — and not, you know, the fact that it was the sequel to a film that already shattered box office records two years prior.

Whatever the truth is, one thing that's for certain is that Trump has a long history of legal troubles, both civil and criminal. He's been sued over 4,000 times (per USA Today), has been impeached as president twice, and, oh yeah, is a convicted felon. In May 2024, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts related to hush-money payments made to adult star Stormy Daniels on his behalf ahead of the 2016 election, per the Associated Press. However, shortly before his second term as president began in January 2025, Trump was effectively let off scot-free, being given an unconditional discharge at his felony sentencing, per NPR. Even so, while Trump has moved to get the verdict thrown out entirely, his conviction remains on the books at the time of writing.