Last month, Kieran Culkin revealed that he very nearly dropped out of his latest movie, A Real Pain, before Emma Stone managed to convince him to stay on the project.
For context, Emma was a producer on the film, which was written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg — who also stars alongside Kieran on screen.
Emma is also Kieran’s ex, with the two dating from 2010 until 2011 after they met on the set of their 2009 movie Paper Man.
The two remained good friends after their split, and they even starred alongside each other in the anthology film Movie 43 back in 2013.
That same year, Kieran married his wife, Jazz Charton, and they went on to welcome two children together: a 5-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son. Emma welcomed a daughter in 2021 with her husband, Dave McCary, who she married in 2020.
Variety / Variety via Getty Images
Kieran is very open about being a family man first and foremost, and in a new interview with Vulture, he admitted that shooting Succession taught him that he can only be away from his wife and kids for eight days before “plunging into dissociative despair.”
![Jazz Charton in a ] floral dress and Kieran Culkin in a ] patterned suit at the 2024 Met Gala, holding his wife from behind](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OHEibmOoz7mHuevbdtP1Sg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEwODU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/d0944e95dba09964f51bd68a58acb2d4)
He signed on to A Real Pain while still working on the final season of Succession, and when filming for the TV series ended up wrapping later than anticipated, Kieran panicked about having less time with his family between jobs.
There was also the issue of being away from them for a full month as filming for the movie was taking place in Poland, and in an interview with Vogue last month, Kieran revealed that he called Emma just weeks before the shoot was due to start to break the news that he was going to have to bail.
Recalling their conversation, the star told the publication: “She goes: ‘If you don’t do it, the entire movie falls apart. But that’s not your responsibility. You shouldn’t feel that burden at all.’”
He added that Emma reassured him that she understood his concerns and would handle the situation, with Kieran’s wife and kids ultimately joining him in Poland for two weeks at the start of filming. Emma also made sure that she and her husband were on the same flight as Kieran and his family for extra support.
Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
And in his new profile for Vulture, both Kieran and Emma reflected on the details of their initial phone call, where Kieran exposed the clever tactics that stopped him from dropping out.
“She did an almost reverse psychology thing on me,” he claimed. “She was like, ‘Oh, I totally get that. If I were you, I’d probably feel that way.’ And I was like, ‘But have they started?’ She goes, ‘Oh, yeah. They’re actually already in Poland scouting locations; people are hired.’”
“I was like, ‘It’s not like people would be out of a job?’” he went on. “She’s like, ‘No, no, they would, but it’s not on you. You said “yes,” but if you have your reasons for not doing it, you’re not responsible for these people’s jobs. It’s fine; you do whatever you want.’ And I got off the phone and I went, ‘Ah.’”
Emma is said to have laughed when asked about this conversation, telling Vulture: “I can’t believe he talked about it publicly.”
She then detailed what being a movie producer is really like, explaining: “Producing, I’ve realized now, is like parenting — every kid needs different things.”
And despite downplaying the implications of Kieran bailing on the movie in her conversation with him, Emma admitted to the publication: “I was so grateful that he did it, but, also, thank fucking God. Because it would’ve been catastrophic.”
Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kieran still had to spend three weeks away from his family for the shoot, and previously told Vogue: “I was in panic mode the whole time. I just went to this horrible place.”
“I was just so fucking broken,” he continued. “Jesse was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’”
When asked by Vulture how he coped during this time, the star is said to have deadpanned: “Alcohol.”
Karwai Tang / WireImage
Thankfully, all’s well that ends well, and A Real Pain starring both Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin will be released in the United States on Nov. 1.
