Josh Hutcherson Says He Was Almost Cast As Kevin McCallister In ‘Home Alone’

He lost a role in one major franchise, but gained another. In a recent interview, Josh Hutcherson claims he was almost cast as Kevin McCallister in one of the Home Alone movies.

“I was probably 11, I think, when I auditioned for it,” the 31-year-old actor recalled in an interview at BuzzFeed HQ. “It got down to me and the other guy. That was the first time that I tasted rejection, so that was really hard.”

It would have been a role in one of the later films in the series, following the first two films headlined by Macaulay Culkin. Alex D. Linz starred in 1997’s Home Alone 3, and three other movies followed in the series with different casts.

Hutcherson’s child actor career began with parts on ER and in the TV movie House Blend. Then he was in the 2007 fantasy film Bridge to Terabithia, followd by Journey to the Center of the Earth and Zathura: A Space Adventure.

All of that was the warmup to his biggest role as Peeta in The Hunger Games franchise, starring opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth.

He currently stars in the action thriller The Beekeeper opposite Jason Statham.