The surprising stars who were almost cast in Christmas classic Home Alone

With the festive season well and truly upon us, it's likely you'll currently be working your way through some of the best classic Christmas movies – and they don't get much more classic than Home Alone.

The film became an instant festive favourite on its original release back in 1990 and has continued to be a fixture on TV channels every December, in addition to spawning a number of sequels.

While it's undoubtedly Macauley Culkin's role as 8-year-old Kevin McAllister which remains by some distance the most iconic performance in the film, he was joined by a number of notable supporting stars – including Catherine O'Hara and Joe Pesci – whose turns are also a key part of the movie's continued appeal.

But it turns out, things could have been very different. A new TikTok released by The Academy Museum in LA has detailed some of the initial casting plans, and there were some very big names who were once also in consideration for the film.

Read on to find out the surprising stars who almost played a part in Home Alone...

Susan Sarandon

Catherine O'Hara's role as Kate McAllister is pretty much a perfect piece of casting – and it's hard to imagine just about anyone else screaming, "Kevin!" in quite so iconic a manner. But according to the clip, one of the stars who was very much in the running for the role was Susan Sarandon – the brilliant star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Thelma and Louise, and Dead Man Walking, among many others.

And she was far from the only alternative on the shortlist for Kate, with other options who were considered including the late Kirstie Alley (Cheers), Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents), Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner), and Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown). All would have made interesting options – but given how great O'Hara is in the role, it's fair to say they made a good choice.

Tim Curry

Sarandon isn't the only iconic star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show who might have ended up in Home Alone in an alternate timeline. According to the clip, Tim Curry was being considered for the role of Harry, the hapless thief who – along with Daniel Stern's Marv – attempted to sneak into the McAllister home only to be undone by Kevin's numerous ingenious booby traps.

Of course the part was eventually played by Joe Pesci, but it seems there were initially concerns that the Goodfellas star wouldn't take on the role, with a note even going so far as to say, "We don’t think he’ll do it." While Curry seemed to be the alternative that most excited the producers, other names in the running included Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos) and the late Zack Norman (Romancing the Stone).

Jimmy Stewart

Hollywood stars don't get much more legendary than Jimmy Stewart, and the Golden Age icon starred in not one but two of the best Christmas films ever made – It's A Wonderful Life and The Shop Around the Corner. Well, it turns out he could have added a third film to that list, with the clip revealing that he was under consideration for the role of Marley, the older neighbour who was eventually played by Roberts Blossom.

Stewart was in his early 80s at the time and had very much wound down his acting career – his final live action film credit was in 1980 – but apparently he was interested and available in the role before they eventually went with Blossom. Another actor who was considered was Vincent Gardenia, who was known for films including Moonstruck and Little Shop of Horrors.

Danny Aiello

Finally, a number of actors were considered for the role of Kevin's father Peter, the role that was eventually played by John Heard. It appears that the late Danny Aiello (The Godfather Part II, Moonstruck, Do the Right Thing) was one of those sounded out – although he reportedly passed – while others in the running included Law and Order star Sam Waterston and David Dukes (Dawson's Creek).

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