Alex D. Linz landed the role every child actor would have wanted back in 1997, but despite starring as the lead in the third Home Alone movie, his career soon took a different path
There are tough acts to follow – and then there are tough acts to follow.
And in movie franchise terms, Alex D. Linz had to follow perhaps the toughest act of all.
Film fans may remember Alex for his most famous role, playing Alex Pruitt in the 1997 family comedy, Home Alone 3. He was the first actor to star in the lead role in a Home Alone movie since the universally popular Macaulay Culkin, who played Kevin McCallister.
To be fair to Alex, he put in a charismatic performance, bringing his own brand of cheeky charm to the role of a tech-savvy eight year old who has to defend his home from a gang of criminals. It was more than enough to suggest he had a big future in acting.
But he quit Hollywood while he was still in his teens, opting instead for a more ordinary life and career out of the limelight.
Now 36, he’s completely unrecognisable – and it’s not just because he’s a quarter or a century older. Gone are the chubby cheeks and trademark pudding bowl haircut. These days, he sports a shorter, messy hairstyle, along with a beard and glasses.
Alex, from Santa Barbara, California, made his acting debut in 1995 at the age of six, featuring in an episode of the sitcom, Cybill. He had a few other minor roles in movies, including The Cable Guy and The Siege at Ruby Ridge, before landing a bigger part in the romantic comedy, One Fine Day, opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney.
But his big break came in 1997 when he was cast at Alex in Home Alone 3. The first two films in the franchise were among the highest grossing family films of all time, and with a cast also boasting a young Scarlett Johansson, there were high hopes for the third instalment, which had an all-new cast and family at its centre.
Sadly, the film received a lukewarm reception at best as fans pined for the McCallister clan of old. While it wasn’t a box office disaster, it was something of a flop compared to the first two films.
Alex continued to act after the movie came out, providing the voice for young Tarzan in the animated Disney film, then starring in movies such as Bruno in 2000, and the 2001 flop, Max Keeble’s Big Move. He also appeared in TV shows including ER and Providence.
By 2007, his acting career was pretty much over. While at Alexander Hamilton High School in LA, he tried his hand at music, fronting a local garage band called The Fez Armada.
He then enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Not quite done with his studies, he then earned a master’s degree in urban and regional planning at the University of California in 2017.
As of 2023, Alex has been working as a legal researcher in LA. He’s also a lead science instructor.