Joe Pesci Attacked His Assistant Director on ‘Home Alone’ Set After Being Asked To Come To Work at 7 AM
Joe Pesci got physical with an assistant director on the set of Home Alone after being asked to arrive at 7 am, new interviews reveal. The actor, known for playing hot-headed thief Harry in the iconic Christmas movies, wanted call times pushed back to 9 am so he could play golf in the mornings.
Did Joe Pesci Attack the Assistant Director?
In a resurfaced behind-the-scenes video on Netflix, two assistant directors on Home Alone recall Pesci angrily confronting them about the call times. One of the ADs said that Pesci pulled them into the producers’ office and he started shoving them and punching them one, though he clarified Pesci was just playfully pushing them around.
According to the assistant directors, Pesci demanded the call time be moved to 9 am sharp so he could fit in nine holes of golf each morning before shooting. “We were like the closest golf course is an hour away,” one assistant director says in the video. But the team ultimately gave in and adjusted Pesci’s call time to accommodate his golf habit.
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Joe Pesci Maintained the On-Screen Dynamic By Avoiding Culkin
Also in an interview with People magazine, Joe Pesci admitted that making the slapstick Home Alone movies was “a little demanding” and required “a more physical type of comedy.” While he used stunt doubles for serious stunts, Pesci endured pain and injury doing some scenes himself.
“I did sustain serious burns to the top of my head during the scene where Harry’s hat is set on fire,” Pesci said,
referencing the famous moment in Home Alone 2 when his character’s beanie is lit ablaze by one of Kevin McCallister’s boobytraps. But Pesci’s biggest gripe wasn’t the stunt work – it was the early 7 am call times that prevented him from playing morning golf.
Pesci also said he intentionally avoided interacting with Macaulay Culkin offset to “preserve the dynamic” between their characters onscreen.
“I wanted to maintain the integrity of the adversarial relationship. I didn’t want it to come across on the screen that we are in any way friendly,” Pesci explained.
Could Joe Pesci Return for Another Home Alone Movie?
The ploy seemed to work, as Pesci and Culkin’s scenes bristle with hostile chemistry. But would Pesci ever return to the role of Harry for another Home Alone sequel? He seems skeptical.
“While you never say never, I think that it would be difficult to replicate not only the success but also the overall innocence of the originals,” Pesci said. “It’s a different time now; attitudes and priorities have changed in 30 years.”
For now, Pesci is satisfied with his legacy in the iconic first two Home Alone films. And despite getting rough with an assistant director, he seems to look back on the experience fondly. Just maybe don’t ask Pesci to report to set before he gets in his morning golf.
