Why Joe Pesci avoided Macaulay Culkin on the Home Alone set

Joe Pesci has revealed that he purposefully kept his distance from Macaulay Culkin on the set of Home Alone in order to maintain the illusion on screen that the pair were adversaries.

Home Alone tells the story of a young kid who is accidentally left at home by his family and parents over the Christmas Holidays. While alone, he is forced to defend his house from a pair of burglars.

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The movie was a success both critically and commercially and remains one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. Even though it pits a kid against two older men, audiences did get the feeling of hate that Harry (Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) felt towards Kevin (Culkin).

"I remember Macaulay as being a really sweet kid and, even at his age, very professional," Pesci told PEOPLE.

"I intentionally limited my interactions with him to preserve the dynamic between his character, Kevin, and my character Harry. I didn't want it to come across on the screen that we were in any way friendly.

"I wanted to maintain the integrity of the adversarial relationship."

While stuntmen did the majority of Pesci's more dangerous stunts, he explained that his head was set on fire for real in the famous scene when Harry smashes through the back door only to be set alight.

"In addition to the expected bumps, bruises, and general pains that you would associate with that particular type of physical humor, I did sustain serious burns to the top of my head during the scene where Harry's hat is set on fire," the Oscar winner revealed.

"I was fortunate enough to have professional stuntmen do the real heavy stunts."

Would Pesci return to play Harry in Home Alone?

There have been numerous less successful entries in the Home Alone franchise that do not feature the original cast from the first two movies, though there is always the possibility some could return for a future instalment.

In Pesci's opinion, though, it would be too hard a task to capture the magic of the first couple of films.

"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," he said.

"It's a different time now; attitudes and priorities have changed in 30 years."