Kieran Culkin said he loved reuniting with ex-girlfriend Emma Stone for their new movie, A Real Pain.
“She’s great,” Culkin, 41, told E! News while at Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this month. “She’s a really wonderful person.”
Culkin and Stone, now 35, met on the set of the 2009 comedy Paper Man and they began dating the following year. Their romance came to an end in 2011, but has lived on as some fans speculate that the brief relationship may have inspired Stone’s friend Taylor Swift to write the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vault track “When Emma Falls in Love.” (Stone has played coy when asked whether she thinks the song is about her.)
In addition to reuniting the exes, A Real Pain marks Culkin’s first time working with director Jesse Eisenberg. Stone was able to vouch for her former Zombieland costar, making Culkin more comfortable with signing on.
“It’s nice because you go into a job and most of the time you don’t really know anybody,” the Succession star told E! News. “But in this case, going in, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, well, at least that part’s taken care of.'”
He continued, “I’m going into a situation where the producers are going to be great, and where the filmmaker will be nice, too. It was good.”
More than a decade after their split, Culkin and Stone have been spotted having friendly interactions at several Hollywood events, including the 2022 Met Gala and the Golden Globes earlier this month.
Both actors have found love following their 2022 split. The Poor Things star and producer Dave McCary started dating in 2017 and tied the knot in September 2020. They welcomed daughter Jean the following year.
Culkin married former model Jazz Charton in June 2013. The pair share daughter Kinsey Sioux, 4, and son Wilder Wolf, 2. The actor announced that he wanted to expand their family when he won the Golden Globe for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
“Thank you for sharing your life with me and giving me two amazing kids,” he said to his wife during his acceptance speech. “And Jazz, I want more. You said maybe if I win. I love you so much. Thank you.”
At a press conference following his big win, he explained that Charton, 35, previously quipped that they could have another child only if he wins an Emmy Award.
“I’ve been asking for a while. My wife, Jazz, said, ‘Maybe if you win the Emmy, haha.’ I didn’t bring it up for months,” Culkin told reporters. “And then when I won the [Golden] Globe, I said, ‘Do you remember what you said?’ And she goes, ‘No! What did I say?’ So, I told her, and it all came back to her.”
He continued, “So then she spent the whole week being nervous and, instead of talking to her in private like a human. I just blasted her on stage, which was very rude. That’s it. That’s the whole story.”
Charton addressed the viral moment by posting a photo via Instagram of herself looking very serious while preparing to hit the red carpet. “Here is the exact moment I realized I may have made a huge mistake by JOKINGLY saying ‘we can have another baby if you ever win an Emmy,’” she quipped.
The pair are known as “a fun, affectionate and completely down-to-earth couple,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly following Culkin’s big win.
“Jazz has always thought Kieran was hysterical,” the insider added. “She’s so happy that all his work has paid off for him.”
