Home Alone star unrecognisable over 30 years on from iconic movie release

01 January 2024 , 21:25

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Brenda Fricker in Home Alone 2 (Image: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

Home Alone fans would be stunned to see one star of the hit movie 31 years on from its release.

Irish actress Brenda Fricker played the infamous pigeon lady in the hit Christmas flick when it was released over three decades ago. Brenda, now 78, was just 47 years old when she starred in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York back in 1992.

She played the homeless lady who lived in New York City 's Central Park with her flock of pigeons and set about protecting young Kevin - played by Macauley Culkin. The youngster finds himself lost in the Big Apple getting into all kinds of scrapes in the film after his parents Catherine O'Hara and John Heard go on holiday and leave him behind for the second time.

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Brenda looks dramatically different (The Tommy Tiernan Show/RTÉ One)

Brenda previously appeared on Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan's The Tommy Tiernan Show where she discussed her career. The Oscar-winning actress spoke candidly about her struggles with depression in a raw and honest appearance on the show.

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"I live a very quiet life well under the radar and I drive a tiny car, own a cottage, that's about it. Talking to the wall quite a bit, talking to the dog, writing poetry, reading books, watching television. Nothing different than anybody else does, except being alone so much can make you talk to the wall a bit more than most people," she said.

After discussing her need to take a break from acting, Tiernan asked the Home Alone 2 star how she felt "inside her head".

"At this moment time, well, only yesterday, I went to the doctor and he said, 'We're going to put you on stronger antidepressants'. Because I am a bit of a recluse. The thing about staying inside by choice is fine but the moment you're told to stay inside you want to go out.

So I've learned from that because I wanted to go out because going out the front door can be a problem for me sometimes," said Fricker. The actress also spoke about her need for medication and the time she spent at St Patrick's Hospital in Dublin, help that was immeasurable to her mental health, she said.

Brenda opened up to Tommy Tiernan (The Tommy Tiernan Show/RTÉ One)

"It was very difficult but there was a wonderful doctor Anthony Clare. He saved my life. He was brilliant with me. He really got me out of the mire. Absolutely just wonderful, just a wonderful brain. Just knowing you and just getting to you. I just walked out happy when I was in his company. He made me feel good," said Fricker.

There was also great moments of levity and humour throughout the chat too as Fricker recalled a hilarious anecdote about just how much Al Pacino was worried in the backstage that he'd not win an Oscar, while Fricker also gave a fascinating insight about how after immediately winning her Oscar, Kevin Kline correctly told her that she'd "never have a private moment" again, and why she uses her Oscar to hold open her bathroom door.

Ayeesha Walsh