# Rory Culkin

Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor known for his roles in You Can Count on Me (2000), Signs (2002), Scream 4 (2011), and Columbus (2017). He has also appeared on television series such as Waco (2018), Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), and the Black Mirror (2023) episode "Beyond the Sea".
He is the youngest brother of actors Macaulay and Kieran Culkin.

## Early life

Rory Hugh Culkin was born July 21, 1989, in New York City, the youngest of seven children born to Christopher "Kit" Culkin, a former Broadway stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup, a native of North Dakota who met Kit in 1974 while working as a road traffic controller in Sundance, Wyoming. Culkin's siblings include Shane (b. 1976), Dakota (1979–2008), Macaulay (b. 1980), Kieran (b. 1982), Quinn (b. 1984), and Christian (b. 1987). He also had a paternal half-sister, Jennifer (b. 1970), who died in 2000. Culkin's paternal aunt is actress Bonnie Bedelia. He has German, Irish, and Norwegian ancestry.

## Career

Culkin began acting by playing alongside his elder brothers, among them Macaulay and Kieran, often as the younger versions of their characters. He first appeared in a photograph as a baby in The Good Son (1993), then as Young Richie in Ri¢hie Ri¢h (1994) (Richie being played by his brother Macaulay) and in 2002, played 10-year-old Igby in Igby Goes Down (17-year-old Igby was played by his older brother Kieran).
Culkin's breakthrough role was in You Can Count on Me (2000), opposite Laura Linney, a role for which he received much praise and a Young Artist Award. Since then, Culkin has appeared in numerous films, including Signs (2002), in which he starred alongside Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix and Electrick Children, in which he starred alongside Julia Garner.
As a teenager, Rory started moving into more independent films. He took a leading role in Mean Creek (2004), a film about a group of teenagers that plan revenge on a bully. The entire youth cast won an Independent Spirit Award for this film. He appeared in other independent films, such as The Chumscrubber (2005), Down in the Valley (2005), and Hick (2011).
Since his Young Artist Award win for You Can Count on Me, Culkin has received three more nominations. He had a guest role in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Manic", and in the episode "Azoth the Avenger Is a Friend of Mine" of The Twilight Zone alongside Patrick Warburton. In May 2010, Culkin was cast for the slasher film Scream 4, which was released on April 15, 2011. Culkin was cast as Euronymous in the biographical film Lords of Chaos (2018) which tells the story about the events of the Norwegian black metal scene and the band Mayhem.
In 2014, Culkin starred as the titular character in Gabriel. Culkin was commended by critics, and was subsequently nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.
In 2016, he appeared in the horror movies Welcome to Willits and Jack Goes Home.
In 2023, Culkin guest-appeared in Amazon Prime Video series Swarm.

## Personal life

In April 2018, Culkin married cinematographer Sarah Scrivener in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their wedding was officiated by Paul Heyman on the eve of WrestleMania 34. Scrivener and Culkin had met already in 2009 while working on Scre4m, the fourth film of the Scream franchise. In 2019, they collaborated on the Showtime series City on a Hill; further, in 2022, they worked together on a music video that Scrivener directed, produced and filmed for musician Quinn Murphy.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | The Good Son | Richard Evans | Cameo |
| 1994 | Richie Rich | Young Richie Rich | |
| 2000 | You Can Count on Me | Rudy Prescott | |
| 2002 | Signs | Morgan Hess | |
| 2002 | Igby Goes Down | 10-Year-Old Igby | |
| 2003 | It Runs in the Family | Eli Gromberg | |
| 2004 | Mean Creek | Sam Merric | |
| 2005 | The Zodiac | Johnny Parish | |
| 2005 | The Chumscrubber | Charlie Stifle | |
| 2005 | Down in the Valley | Lonnie | |
| 2006 | The Night Listener | Pete D. Logand | |
| 2008 | Chasing 3000 | Roger | |
| 2008 | Lymelife | Scott | |
| 2010 | Twelve | Chris | |
| 2011 | Hick | Clement | |
| 2011 | Scream 4 | Charlie Walker | |
| 2012 | Electrick Children | Clyde | |
| 2014 | Gabriel | Gabriel | |
| 2015 | Intruders | Dan Cooper | |
| 2016 | Jack Goes Home | Jack | |
| 2016 | Welcome to Willits | Possum | |
| 2017 | Columbus | Gabriel | |
| 2017 | The Song of Sway Lake | Ollie | |
| 2017 | Bullet Head | Gage | |
| 2018 | Lords of Chaos | Euronymous | |
| 2020 | Materna | Gabe | |
| 2021 | The Last Thing Mary Saw | The Intruder | |
| 2024 | 5lbs of Pressure | Mike | |
| 2024 | Dead Money | Uncle Ronnie / Revolver | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Off Season | Jackson Mayhew | Television film |
| 2001–2002 | The Job | Davey McNeil | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | The Twilight Zone | Craig Hansen | Episode: "Azoth the Avenger Is a Friend of Mine" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Joe Blaine | Episode: "Manic" |
| 2017–2018 | Sneaky Pete | Gavin | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Waco | David Thibodeau | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Castle Rock | Willie | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | City on a Hill | Clay Roach | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | The Expecting | Tyler | 9 episodes |
| 2020 | 50 States of Fright | Older Aiden | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Halston | Joel Schumacher | Episode: "Becoming Halston" |
| 2022 | Under the Banner of Heaven | Samuel Lafferty | 7 episodes |
| 2023 | Swarm | Marcus | Episode: "Stung" |
| 2023 | Black Mirror | Kappa | Episode: "Beyond the Sea" |