Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Uncle Buck?

John Hughes' 1989 film "Uncle Buck" is a difficult movie to categorize. A peculiar combination of classic 1980s comedy, drama, and heartwarming family film, the story of the Russell family and Bob Russell's (Garrett M. Brown) disruptive but well-meaning babysitting brother Buck (John Candy) juggles themes of responsibility and maturity with copious comedic moments to an effect that has divided critics but enticed audiences. 

"Uncle Buck" is one of the best John Candy movies, and while it's a vehicle that relies heavily on his charming screen presence, it also benefits from a central cast that's extremely solid throughout. Let's see what happened to the actors after the movie. 

The titular Uncle Buck Russell is a likeable but immature and irresponsible guy whose story is at the center of the film. The role requires a very strong actor in order to capture all of the character's comedic and dramatic nuances — and fortunately, John Hughes cast John Candy in the role. 

Legendary comedian Candy shot "Uncle Buck" smack dab in the middle of his amazing run of well-regarded comedies. He already had films like "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," "Stripes," "Spaceballs," "Splash," "Little Shop of Horrors," and others under his belt, and would go on to appear in comedy classics like "Home Alone" and "Cool Runnings." 

Candy was a proven comedic genius with a penchant for nuanced character acting — just watch his turn as Dean Andrews in Oliver Stone's "JFK" as an example of his more serious fare. Unfortunately, there's no telling how far his road as an actor could have taken him. The untold truth of John Candy ended when he died of a heart attack on March 4, 1994, at only 43 years of age.

While Uncle Buck has little trouble charming the youngest members of the Russell family, his babysitting mission hits a massive speed bump in the shape of the teenage Tia Russell (Jean Louisa Kelly), who's outright hostile toward Buck and resists his efforts to connect. 

"Uncle Buck" was Kelly's debut in front of the camera after a background in theater, but while her performance opposite John Candy was great, she found the transition from stage to screen challenging. "The movie was challenging for me though in that, as my first film, it was a major culture shock," she told Kickin' It Old School (via Rediscover the '80s). "I was used to theater and a film set is run very differently. First and foremost, there is no privacy. Someone has to know exactly where you are at all times, because you need to be ready when the lights and camera are set, so you lose a lot of freedom as a kid."

However, after her initial difficulties, Kelly proved to be a greatly successful movie and TV actor who's had roles in over 60 projects. In 1995, she appeared as Rowena Morgan in the Academy Award-nominated "Mr. Holland's Opus." From 2000 to 2006, she was part of the main cast of the CBS sitcom "Yes, Dear" as Kim Warner. She played the mysterious Jane Doe character in the 2021 horror movie "Malignant," and the following year, she played Iceman's (Val Kilmer) wife Sarah Kazansky in "Top Gun: Maverick." On top of all that, Kelly has Broadway appearances under her belt, and she's also a singer who released the jazz album "For My Folks" in 2017.

The role of Russell family's sole son, Miles, is played by Macaulay Culkin, whose fame came to rival and perhaps even surpass John Candy's. At the time he made "Uncle Buck," Culkin was just two years away from becoming a major international celebrity thanks to his role as Kevin McCallister on "Home Alone" — a John Hughes-penned movie that Candy incidentally also appears in.

The actor's laundry list of 1990s roles brought him millions but also cost him dearly. Culkin's true life story is tragic, and features clashes with his parents — his father in particular. After a few years in the child actor business, Culkin largely retired from the movie game after 1994's "Richie Rich." He resumed sporadic acting in the 2000s, but has largely shunned the limelight, preferring instead to dabble with things like touring with a pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band and running a comedy website. 

Culkin appreciates the comfortable life his early work brought him, despite his youth being far from ideal. "It coulda been worse, you know?" he told Esquire in 2020. "I wasn't working in a coal mine. I wasn't a child soldier. My father was not sexually abusing me. Certain f*****-up things happened, but f*****-up things happen to kids all the time and they don't come out the other end. I've got something to show for it, man." Culkin also noted that he remains interested in acting, even though he doesn't particularly enjoy the trappings of fame the profession brings. "I enjoy acting. I enjoy being on set," he said. "I don't enjoy a lot of the other things that come around it." Perhaps because of this lingering passion, he can still very much deliver when he does venture in front of the camera. For a Macaulay Culkin experience that's thoroughly unlike his famous early roles, check out his work on 2021's "American Horror Story: Double Feature." 

The third Russell child, Maizy, is portrayed by Gaby Hoffmann. "Uncle Buck" was the second movie on her acting CV, and seeing as the first was playing Ray Kinsella's (Kevin Costner) daughter in "Field of Dreams," it's safe to say that her film career started with a bang. 

Hoffmann went on to have an impressive early 1990s with roles in future classics like "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Freaky Friday." She's continued to work steadily in movies ever since, and in the mid-2010s, she became a prominent TV actor. You may have seen her as Caroline Sackler on HBO's "Girls," or as Ali Pfefferman on "Transparent" — or perhaps at the Emmy Awards, thanks to her Primetime Emmy nods for both roles. She also plays The Forum's arena manager Claire Rothman on the Max basketball docudrama "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty." 

Amy Madigan plays Buck's girlfriend, Chanice Kobolowski, in "Uncle Buck." Because of this, she shared a fair few scenes with John Candy, and in a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair, she remembered him as a fantastic, fun costar. "He was the king of ad libs," Madigan said. "He and John Hughes had worked together before, so they had a really neat shorthand. It was sometimes all I could do to keep a straight face since he was just so hilarious. You would be doing a close-up, so the other actors are off camera, and he would just throw this stuff at you to crack you up."

This is high praise coming from an actor who already had an Oscar nomination for 1985's "Twice in a Lifetime" and two Golden Globe nominations when she joined the cast of "Uncle Buck." In 1989, Madigan also landed an Emmy nomination for her role as Sarah Weddington in the TV film "Roe vs. Wade," and the following year, she finally won a Golden Globe for the same role. Incidentally, she also played Annie Kinsella — Gaby Hoffmann's character's mother — in "Field of Dreams."

Madigan has remained a popular and reliable actor throughout the decades, appearing on numerous TV shows and in films across many genres. Fans of HBO's paranormal-laced Dust Bowl drama "Carnivàle" may remember her as central antagonist Brother Justin's (Clancy Brown) devoted sister Iris Crowe. She's also known for her roles as Bea McCready in "Gone Baby Gone" and Dr. Katharine Wyatt on "Grey's Anatomy."  

Elaine Bromka, who plays the Russell family mother Cindy in "Uncle Buck," started acting in films and TV shows in 1980. For much of 1992, she starred as Stella Lombard on "Days of Our Lives," and in 2003, she appeared as the recurring character Clarice Robbins on the NBC daytime drama "Passions." 

However, along with "Uncle Buck," Bromka is probably best known for her numerous guest star roles on famous TV shows. You may have seen her on well-known series that range from "Sex and the City" and "Dharma & Greg" to "The Sopranos," "The Blacklist," and different roles across various Law & Order shows. She's also played supporting roles in several movies. 

Buck's brother Bob Russell is brought to life by Garrett M. Brown, who had largely appeared in projects like Woody Allen's "Zelig" and the award-winning horror thriller "Apology" before "Uncle Buck." Due to Brown's overall focus on serious roles — especially in the 1980s and the 1990s — the John Candy movie would remain something of an aberration in his acting credits until the 2000s, when he started appearing on series like "That 70's Show" and in movies like the Jim Carrey film "Fun with Dick and Jane." Notably, he also plays hapless superhero Dave "Kick-Ass" Lizewski's (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) father, James Lizewski, in the irreverent 2010 superhero comedy "Kickass" and its 2013 sequel, "Kick-Ass 2." 

Brown's over 70 acting credits include numerous supporting roles in movies and single-episode guest star turns, but he's also had his share of long-term success. From 1991 to 1996, he portrayed major supporting character John Whitsig on the NBC family drama "Sisters." From 2000 to 2002, he was Isabel (Katherine Heigl) and Max's (Jason Behr) adoptive father Philip Evans on the sci-fi series "Roswell." He's also played notable roles on shows like "Big Love," "Masters of Sex," "American Crime Story," and "Good Trouble."