UPDATE 12/23/21 11:14 a.m. ET
Devin Ratray has been arrested in Oklahoma City after allegedly strangling his girlfriend, Us Weekly confirms. The Hustlers actor was charged with one count of domestic assault and battery by strangulation and another count of domestic assault and battery.
Original story below:
Devin Ratray, who played Buzz McCallister in the original Home Alone movies, was reportedly issued a ticket for assault and battery after an alleged altercation with his girlfriend.
Ratray, 44, allegedly attempted to strangle his partner when the pair were staying together at an Oklahoma City hotel on December 9, multiple outlets reported after the supposed dispute. Ratray was issued a citation that morning, though no arrest was made.
One day later, the former child star’s girlfriend met with authorities to give a statement, claiming that Ratray “beat the crap out of her,” per the police report.
The Girls alum’s rep told TMZ earlier this month that the pair got into a verbal argument before breaking up, denying the situation turned physical. The subject of their disagreement remains unknown.
Ratray is best known for portraying Kevin McCallister’s (Macaulay Culkin) older brother in the 1990s-era holiday movies, recently returning to his role on the Disney+ reboot, Home Sweet Home Alone.
“On November 12th … Officer McCallister is on patrol. Keeping the streets safe. From Trout Sniffers,” the actor wrote via Instagram in November alongside a snap of himself in costume.
In the 1990 film and its 1992 sequel, Ratray played Kevin’s eldest brother, who had a difficult relationship with his younger sibling before growing up to be a police officer in the revival. In the new iteration — which premiered last month — Ratray’s character told his fellow officers to ignore calls about children being left behind at home during the holidays, noting, “[Kevin] called in the 289 to mess with me. The idiot does it every year.”
The My Girl star, 41, did not appear in the comedy, but his onscreen brother was excited to bring his character back to life.
“People either know me right away or they find out after knowing me for some time. It can be quite a surprise. I don’t look the same as I did when I was 13,” the New York native told Den of Geek in December 2020 about his experience working on the first movie. “Chris [Columbus, the director] encouraged me to explore the material. If I felt like throwing in a line or improvising, he wanted me to do that so he could get a better sense of who I was. He made me feel at ease and very comfortable and I walked out feeling quite relaxed. It was a pretty good experience in terms of an auditioning process and just a total joy when I got the part.”
He added at the time, “Maybe he felt that he could work with someone who didn’t come across as nervous on camera. I don’t know what it was but I’m just grateful that I got it. … Up until then, I had played either nerds or bullies — both ends of the spectrum — but playing the bad guy is always more fun, and playing a nasty, surly, rude teenage bastard like Buzz was great.”
