Catherine O'Hara reflects on "Home Alone". "It hit me hard"

In the film "Home Alone," Catherine O'Hara portrays the main character's mother. She can't dismiss a particular line she delivered to Macaulay Culkin on set to this day. This was referenced during a recent encounter with the actor, who affectionately still calls her "mom."

"Home Alone" has remained a Christmas television staple for more than three decades. The viewing public never grows tired of seeing an eight-year-old boy successfully fend off two thieves all by himself. Macaulay Culkin took center stage in the film and Catherine O'Hara, known priorly from "Beetlejuice," played his mother.

The audience has a particular penchant for a scene where, during a family Christmas trip, she recalls abruptly that she left her son behind. In the scene, she yells "Kevin," into the camera and drops to the ground. Yet, for the actress, another scene holds a deeper emotional significance, though it brings back a not-so-pleasant memory.

In the plot, the night before the family's flight to Paris, Kevin has a fallout with his family and is sent to the attic as punishment. In his fury, he tells his mom he never wants to see his family members again.

"And then I retorted: 'Well, you'll be pretty upset if you wake up tomorrow without a family.' He replies, 'Not at all,' to which I respond, 'You better repeat that because it might just happen.' Those words hit me hard. I couldn't reconcile having to utter such terrifying words to a beautiful child." - O'Hara confessed this during the ceremony to unveil Macaulay Culkin's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 1.

In a matter of moments, the actress turned to the now-grown-up star of "Home Alone" and its sequel, "Home Alone in New York," to address him personally.

"Thank you for continuing to call me 'mom,' despite me leaving you behind twice," Catherine O'Hara joked, alluding also to the sequel.