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Christmas

'Home Alone' actor who left Hollywood offers rare comment on film

Portrait of Anna Kaufman Anna Kaufman
USA TODAY
Dec. 4, 2025, 10:28 a.m. ET

"Home Alone" actor Daniel Stern is shedding light on his life after leaving the big screen behind.

Stern, 68, played burglar Marv in the beloved Christmas flick alongside Joe Peschi's Harry. In a new interview with People, the actor revealed that he would not be attending the film's anniversary events, even as some of his fellow cast members gather to mark 35 years of the franchise.

"I don't leave my farm," Stern told the outlet. He is now a citrus and cattle farmer in California, having left acting behind. "It's no offense to the movie. I'm just … a phone call, Zoom call, I'm in. But … I'm a bit of a homebody."

Daniel Stern arrives at the 2014 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour - WGN America Presents "Manhattan" at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 9, 2014, in Beverly Hills, California.

Stern told People that he's still proud to be a part of cinematic history, but that the love people have for "Home Alone" – and his role in it – can be overwhelming.

"I love knowing that everybody loves it," he said. "Actual people come at me and say, 'We love it.' It's a little overwhelming sometimes."

"Home Alone," which now has several sequels, follows Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) as he's mistakenly left behind by his family just a few days before Christmas.

"I did know that it was a gem of a movie," he continued. "John Hughes wrote the funniest script I've ever read. I mean, I was rolling on the floor, laughing, reading it. It was so funny, but it was also full of heart and you know — the kid and the neighbor saves him and he and the mother reunite … I mean, it was so emotional."

An hour of hijinks ensues in the film as Culkin fends off burglars Peschi and Stern and learns a few lessons about holiday magic and family along the way.

"It was so funny, it was so true," Stern told People of the film. "I was hopeful that we were making a great movie. I had no idea obviously — no one could — of the longevity of its life."

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