Kieran Culkin has confessed. The star of “A Real Pain” and “Succession” admitted that he once swapped a prop joint for one spiked with real marijuana when he was cast in a stage production alongside Mark Ruffalo in 2000.
“I was 17 and stupid,” Culkin said in a new interview with The Guardian. “I’m like, ‘I thought this was a good prank. I’m stupid. Oh my God, I’m so sorry.’ But actually, they loved it. Mark says, ‘I haven’t smoked pot in 10 years. The second half’s going to be so much fun.’ There was this other actor who had never smoked pot in her life. She goes, ‘Is this what being high is? This is lovely.’ And then Phyllis Newman comes in and goes, ‘I haven’t smoked pot since the 1960s. Thank you, darling.’”
Culkin, Ruffalo and their co-stars were featured in Playwright Horizons’ production of James Lapine’s play “The Moment When” at the time.
“The stage manager comes stomping in and goes, ‘I don’t care whose it is, or what happened, but Kieran, give me the joint.’ I sheepishly handed her the roach and she said, ‘Ruin your life on your own time,’” Culkin continued. “I know, I know. But I was young. I’m 42 now. I know better. I’m not going to try to get anyone high on stage.”
For Ruffalo’s part, the actor had previously alluded to the incident in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. Ruffalo kept Culkin’s identity a secret though.
“There was a play that I did where I smoked a joint in the first scene. Of course, there was a very naughty young actor I was in the play with. On the opening night with all the critics, we slipped a real joint onto the prop table,” Ruffalo said at the time. “Between the two of us, we smoked a giant blunt onstage. … But at the end of the play, I got the best reviews of my entire career. But I’d never do that again.”
Culkin is currently making the rounds to promote co-star and director Jesse Eisenberg’s road comedy “A Real Pain.” Culkin is nominated for a Golden Globe in the supporting actor category for his role in the film.