Speaking with People in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Joe Pesci discussed the demands of “slapstick comedy,” which resulted in him sustaining “serious burns” while filming one iconic scene of the film.
“It was a nice change of pace to do that particular type of slapstick comedy,” Pesci said of the sequel to the 1990 blockbuster Home Alone.
While noting that he’d done comedy films prior to Home Alone, including 1983’s Easy Money and 1989’s Lethal Weapon 2, Pesci admitted that “the Home Alone movies were a more physical type of comedy, therefore, a little more demanding.”
One prank in the sequel saw Pesci’s character’s hat set on fire after he finds himself on the other end of Macaulay Culkin’s blowtorch.
“In addition to the expected bumps, bruises and general pains that you would associate with that particular type of physical humor, I did sustain serious burns to the top of my head during the scene where Harry’s hat is set on fire,” Pesci revealed. “I was fortunate enough to have professional stuntmen do the real heavy stunts.”
As for his relationship with Culkin, Pesci revealed that he “intentionally limited” his interactions with the young star in order to “maintain the integrity of the adversarial relationship.”
“I remember Macaulay as being a really sweet kid and, even at his age, very professional,” Pesci said. “I intentionally limited my interactions with him to preserve the dynamic between his character, Kevin, and my character Harry.”
Pesci appeared in the first two Home Alone movies, while the four subsequent sequels, three of which never had a run in theaters, included new casts and storylines.
