The Home Alone 2 Climbing Stunt That Left Daniel Stern Covered In Bruises
Every holiday season sees a drastic spike in the popularity of classic Christmas movies. Whether it's "The Santa Clause," "A Christmas Story," or whatever Hallmark is cooking up that year, everyone has a favorite movie to watch during Christmas time.
One of the most iconic Christmas franchises is, without a doubt, the "Home Alone" series. The charming yet hilarious string of movies focuses on the idea of "what's the worst that can happen if you forget your kid?" It turns out the answer is a lot, including the kid defending your home from burglars or somehow making their way to New York City. Director Chris Columbus and writer John Hughes really hit audiences with the one-two-punch with "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."
The Macaulay Culkin-led films focused on the adorable Kevin McCallister as he somehow keeps getting separated from his parents and running into the thief duo of Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern). Throughout both movies, Kevin puts Harry and Marv through the wringer, setting up elaborate traps that physically test the criminals' resilience. However, the duo doesn't quit, continuing to push forward to get to Kevin, which results in even more pain for Harry and Marv. Both Pesci and Stern did most of their characters' stunts, which is a feat in itself, but one scene, in particular, left Stern bruised and battered.
A climbing stunt left Daniel Stern quite banged up
It turns out that filming "Home Alone 2" wasn't all fun and games. One-half of the villainous duo, Daniel Stern (Marv), revealed in a Reddit AMA that one scene, in particular, left him covered in bruises. When asked if he ever received an injury from his time on the series, Stern recalled one stunt that didn't go as planned.
"There's a scene where I have to climb a tower of old TV sets, bookcases, and other seemingly simple bits of debris... but it turned out to be a lot more complicated that I imagined. I must've hit every corner of every chair and table, take after take. When I was getting out of my costume at the end of the day I noticed a lot of bruising on my legs... and three days later, both legs were purple to toes to you know where..."
Throughout both movies, a recurring comedic bit comes from Kevin's elaborate traps constantly beating down the two thieves, Marv in particular. Numerous scenes feature Stern's character getting severe punishments, whether it's getting hit in the head with bricks, slipping on ice, or falling down stairs. Looking back on it, it's surprising that this is the worst that Stern walked away with.