Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin bonded over the "trauma" of child stardom
The 36-year-old actress found fame in the early 2000s when she played London Tipton on the Disney Channel sitcom 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' and admitted that by the time she met Macaulay - who became one of the biggest child stars of the 1990s following his role in 'Home Alone - in 2017, they were able to understand each other's struggles that have stemmed from those early years
13 February 2025
Speaking on the 'Sibling Revelry' podcast, she explained: "It wasn't one of the first things we connected on, but I think there was this unspoken understanding that we've had certain trauma that we both share that we didn't even quite realise stems from us being child actors.
"Certain anxieties or stressors or even triggers that you don't realise. You don't realize as a kid, how much that affects you as an adult."
The 'Last Showgirl' star - who has sons Dakota, three, and two-year-old Carson with Macaulay - admitted that her relationship has changed how she and her significant other view the industry, although she still "loves" being in it after more than three decades.
She said: ""[It] impacted how we look at our relationship with the industry now, how he looks at it and how I look at it.
"I always say, like, I've been in this business for 33 years, and I still love it. Something must be wrong with me."
After starring in hits such as 'My Girl' and 'The Pagemaster', Macaulay took a hiatus in 1995 and returned almost a decade later, and Brenda is pleased to have someone who "really understands" what it is like to be in showbusiness.
She said: "It's also been really nice, though, to have someone who truly just really understands.
"He gets what I do on a different kind of level, and it's been so nice. I've never had that before."
© 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity
