Macaulay Culkin claims father was 'mentally and physically' abusive: 'Do good or I'll hit you'

Actor Macaulay Culkin leaves the Santa Barbara county courthouse in Santa Maria, California May 11, 2005. Culkin was called in as a witness in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. - PBEAHUOAFDN

Former child star Macaulay Culkin has opened up about the shocking abuse which led him to leave Hollywood.

Culkin, 37, claimed his father, Kit, was “mentally and physically” abusive and “jealous” of him, and made threats including, “Do good or I’ll hit you."

The "Home Alone" actor made the claims in a revealing interview with Marc Maron on his WTF podcast.

“Everything he (Culkin’s father) tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old,” Culkin told Maron’s WTF podcast.

Culkin’s parents divorced after he filmed "Richie Rich" in 1994. He called their split “one of the best things that’s ever happened” because it led to him leaving the industry.

“I even 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,’” Culkin said.

The "Saved!" actor famously sued his parents over his $17 million earnings in a custody dispute when he was 15 years old.

He had their names removed as his legal guardians so they could no longer control his fortune.

Meantime, Culkin — who was close friends with Michael Jackson — also spoke about his friendship with Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, 19. Culkin is her godfather and the pair share matching tattoos on their arms.

“I am close with Paris,” Culkin told WTF, according to E!. “I’m going to warn you now I am very protective of her so just look out.

“I am a very open book when it comes to things but like with her, she is beloved by me.”

Culkin met Jackson at the height of his "Home Alone" fame in 1990. They remained friends and spent time at the Neverland Ranch in California. Paris has also spoken of given Culkin a pedicure once.

The child star has changed his look many times. He has gone from looking like a wholesome child actor to a grungy Kurt Cobain-style.

In 2004, Culkin ran into trouble with the law and was charged in Oklahoma City with marijuana possession and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

He was a passenger in a Pontiac Bonneville, when the driver was arrested for speeding.

Police seized 17.3 grams of marijuana, eight Xanax pills and 16 round white pills identified by police as clonazepam, a sedative used to treat anxiety and seizures that can be addictive. Police said Culkin told them he did not have a prescription for the pills.

He was released after posting a $4,000 bond.

In an interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live” in May 2004, Culkin said he consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana over the years, but said, “I never had a problem.”

“Everything that I do for some reason becomes this big crazy thing, you know, even though any normal person does it. Like, yes I’m a kid, I had a beer, I smoked a joint. Big deal,” he said.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2016, the star also addressed rumors of drug addiction by saying: “No, I was not pounding six grand of heroin every month or whatever. The thing that bugged me was tabloids wrapping it all in this weird guise of concern. No, you’re trying to shift papers.”

In 2012, photographs showed him looking very gaunt and unwell, while rumours swirled about him battling a drug addiction.

He previously dated Mila Kunis for nine years, after their relationship began in 2002. Kunis once told Howard Stern that Culkin’s fame was difficult to deal with.

“He was huge because you couldn’t walk down the street with him,” she said on Stern’s Sirius XM radio show. “He always had this weird (attraction) ... fans just screamed — they didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t like a normal response to a celebrity. The fans responded in a very abnormal way to him.”

The actor now seems to be looking healthier, and is understood to be dating Disney Channel star Brenda Song.

She has called him a “stud” on her Instagram account.

In September last year, the two were spotted at Instagram’s Knott’s Scary Farm celebrity night. They were seen holding hands and being very “affectionate,” according to an Entertainment Tonight source.

“Park-goers said they were very cute with each other, holding hands and very affectionate,” the source told ET. “Looked like they were having a great time.”

Culkin is set to return to Hollywood this year with a role in "Changeland," which co-stars his rumored girlfriend Brenda Song and was directed by "Robot Chicken’s" Seth Green.

Song posted an image of her with friends, including Culkin and Green in August last year. It is understood that Green may have introduced them.

When Entertainment Tonight asked Song about her relationship to Culkin, she said: “Ah, I don’t like to talk about my personal life.”

This article originally appeared on news.com.au.