Josh Hutcherson reveals he nearly played Kevin McCallister in 'Home Alone'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'The Hunger Games' and 'Bridge to Terabithia' star Josh Hutcherson recently revealed an unexpected anecdote from his early acting career: he auditioned for a 'Home Alone' movie after Macaulay Culkin left the role.

In a BuzzFeed interview, Hutcherson disclosed that he was nearly cast as Kevin McCallister in a 'Home Alone' film when he was just 11 years old, as reported by Deadline.

The actor, 31, recalled in the BuzzFeed interview, "I was probably 11, I think, when I auditioned for it. It got down to me and the other guy. That was the first time that I tasted rejection, so that was really hard."

"It was a big deal for me at the time," he stated and added, "I was so excited to get that close. And then to not get it, it was like, 'Oh, wow, this is what rejection feels like'."

Hutcherson did not reveal which 'Home Alone' movie he tried out for, but judging by the timing, it would have been one of the more recent releases, such as 'Home Alone 3' (1997) or 'Home Alone 4: Lost in Time' (2002).

This is because Hutcherson was born in 1990 and 1992, which coincides with the release of the first two films for which Culkin is most recognized.

In 1997, Alex D Linz played the lead role of the smart Alex Pruitt in 'Home Alone 3'. 'Home Alone 4' (2002), 'Home Alone: The Holiday Heist' (2012), and 'Home Sweet Home Alone' (2021) were the next three films in the series with different casts, per Entertainment Weekly.

Internet asserts 'only fitting one for that role was Macaulay Culkin'

Following Josh Hutcherson's latest revelation about missing out on the role of Kevin McCallister in a 'Home Alone' movie, internet users took to online forums to assert how Macaulay Culkin is the 'only fitting one for that role' and not him.

One such user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "The only fitting one for that role was Macaulay Culkin," while a second X user asserted, "As much as I love Josh as an actor, Macaulay deserved this role."

Another user quipped, "Make a old man home alone with him as the lead."

"We don’t talk about any of the Home Alone sequels past 2 - okay?! There are only two Home Alone films," pointed out one user.

Another one noted, "As someone who's seen many of his kid roles such as Walter from Zathura, yeah I can't picture him playing Kevin."

Bringing the age factor, one more X user noted, "He wasn't born when the movie came out."

Another one echoed a similar sentiment and said, "He was born 2 years before that, so he is definitely a dead ringer!!!"

Josh Hutcherson's child actor career began with roles in TV series

Hutcherson began as a kid actor with roles in TV shows 'ER' and 'House Blend,' before landing his big break in the fantasy picture 'Bridge to Terabithia' in 2007.

After making appearances in 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' and 'Zathura: A Space Adventure', he shot to fame as Peeta in the 'The Hunger Games' film series, co-starring with Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth.

In another section of the Buzzfeed interview, Hutcherson said that despite their hectic work schedules, he still finds time to hang out with his 'Hunger Games' co-stars, Lawrence and Hemsworth.

Hutcherson is currently starring opposite Jason Statham in the action thriller 'The Beekeeper', and previously starred in the horror film 'Five Nights at Freddy's'.

In a recent career retrospective, Hutcherson told Entertainment Weekly, "I'm happy now to be in a position, with Freddy’s having come out, Beekeper about to come out, that I can find the next thing that I can sink my teeth into. I’m coming into the next era of my career, being in my early 30s."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.