Macaulay Culkin removed his parents’ names from trust fund after retiring with £40 million as child star

Macaulay Culkin is one of the most recognisable former child stars ever

However, behind the scenes he was going through a tough time.

He famously 'divorced' his parents when he was 15, suing his parents for $17 million (£12.2 million) in earnings during a custody dispute that also saw them removed as his legal guardians.

Back in 2018, the star opened up about this, and said it was the reason that led him to leave Hollywood when he was still so young.

The now 43-year-old claimed his father, Kit, was 'mentally and physically' abusive, threatening and 'jealous' of him.

"My father was jealous of me. He made threats including, 'Do good or I'll hit you'," he told the WTF podcast.

"He was a bad man. He was abusive. Physically and mentally. I can show you all my scars if I wanted to.

"Everything he tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old.

"Our 1994 divorce was 'one of the best things that's ever happened' as it led to me leaving the industry. I wanted to take a break for a while and eventually I was like, 'I'm done guys, hope you all made your money because there is no more coming from me'."

He further explained in an interview with Esquire what went down when he took his parents' names off his trust fund aged 15.

“It’s always misconstrued, that I ‘emancipated’ myself from my parents," Culkin said.

“I legally took my parents’ names off of my trust fund and found an executor, someone who would look over my finances, just in case anyone wanted to stick their f**king pinkie in the pie.

“But the next thing you know, the story was that I divorced my parents.

“I just thought I was doing it cleanly—taking my father’s name off, taking my mom’s name off, so my opinion is unbiased. And when I did that, the whole thing kinda ended a lot faster.”

Culkin has been estranged from his father since 1997

Despite the abuse he faced from the hands of his father, Culkin has remained objective when looking back.

“Look, I mean, it sucks. But: It coulda been worse, you know," he said of his father's abuse.

“I wasn’t working in a coal mine. I wasn’t a child soldier. My father was not sexually abusing me.

“Certain f**ked up things happened, but f**ked up things happen to kids all the time and they don’t come out the other end.

“I’ve got something to show for it, man. I mean, look at me: I got money, I got fame, I got a beautiful girlfriend and a beautiful house and beautiful animals.

“It took me a long time to get to that place, and I had to have that conversation with myself and go, like, Honestly, Mack? It’s not so bad.

“I want for nothing and need for even less. I’m good, man.”

Culkin's dad Kit is now reported to live in Arizona and when approached by the Daily Mail, he told reporters he 'doesn't consider Macaulay to be his son anymore'.

Culkin himself, however, is now a father himself to two children, whom he welcomed with his partner and fellow former child star Brenda Song.