The classic home invasion farce also nearly featured one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most stalwart collaborators.

Home Alone casting notes reveal that Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry, more stars were nearly cast in movie

The classic home invasion farce also nearly featured one of Alfred Hitchcock's most stalwart collaborators.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 14, 2025 4:41 p.m. ET

Susan Sarandon; Macaulay Culkin in 'Home Alone'; and Tim Curry in 'Home Alone 2: Lost In New York'. Credit:

Arturo Holmes/WireImage; Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

At one time, the *Home Alone* house was set to be as star-studded as Madame Tussaud's.

It's nearly impossible to imagine the classic Christmastime home-invasion comedy without its stacked adult cast, including *Schitt's Creek *star Catherine O'Hara as Kate McCallister, mom to Macaulay Culkin's protagonist Kevin, or Joe Pesci as the scheming thief Harry. But casting notes recently revealed by the Academy Library paint a very different picture of a film that almost was.

"Can you imagine if Kirstie Alley or Susan Sarandon had played Kate in *Home Alone*?" Louise Hilton asked in a new TikTok posted to the official Academy Museum account on Saturday. Hilton is a librarian at the Margaret Herrick Library, the home of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' core collection and special collections. In the video, Hilton takes viewers through "material from the casting company when they were working on *Home Alone*," which reveals the big stars considered for roles like Kate and Harry before the final calls were made.

"We have memos for the shortlists for the actors who were finalists," Hilton explained.

"For the older neighbor who saves the day they were considering Jimmy Stewart. His agent was interested and he was available, but they ended up going with Robert Blossom," she noted, in reference to the role of the Boo Radley-esque "Old Man" Marley.

Jimmy Stewart, Kirstie Alley, and Blythe Danner, all near-stars of 'Home Alone'.

George Rose/Getty;Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty;Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Hilton read from a memo that states, "'We can go with an older Harry and younger Marv as written, but Tim Curry and Dan Stern make an exciting pair.' They're considering Joe Pesci, but he was 'offer only,' so he wouldn't audition, and that 'We don't think he'll do it,' but of course he does."

Where is the 'Home Alone' house? Inside the real-life pad where Kevin waged war on the Wet Bandits

Tim Curry recalls having to lie to Donald Trump's ex while filming 'Home Alone 2': 'I loathed it'

*Home Alone *screened on Saturday for the first time at the Academy Museum's David Geffen Theater, which opened in Los Angeles in 2021. The holiday romp directed by Chris Columbus and released in theaters in 1990 has proved to possess remarkable staying power, prompting repertory screenings, discussions, and constant talk of sequels and reboots.

Some of the actors noted in the film's casting records who didn't make the final cut went on to star in the film's sequels, like Curry, who portrayed the concierge Mr. Hector in 1992's *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York*. Others have discussed their near brushes with the franchise who Hilton didn't even mention.**

Catherine O'Hara as Kate McCallister in 'Home Alone'.

20th Century Studios

Columbus detailed in a 2020 *Business Insider* retrospective on the making of the first film how the production first approached Pesci's *Goodfellas *costar Robert De Niro for the role of Harry, but admitted that De Niro never seemed interested.

"It was talked about a little internally, but when Pesci said yes, I was stunned," he reflected.

John Mulaney shocked Kelly Ripa in 2016 when he revealed that he "was asked to audition for the role of Kevin in *Home Alone*." Mulaney said that his parents ultimately decided he shouldn't go through with the audition, and looking back now, he reasons, "Macaulay Culkin, I could never have done — he truly is Kevin McCallister, and I could have never done a better job."

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Holiday”