Joe Pesci has the scars to prove his dedication to his role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The actor, who played thief Harry in the 1992 holiday movie, says he burned his head in an infamous scene in which his character’s hat catches on fire.
Harry’s head goes up in flames thanks to a trap set by Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin), but Pesci says the fire wasn’t all movie magic. In an email interview with People, Pesci recalled the real burns he sustained while filming the scene, which concludes with his character plunging his head into a toilet to put out the fire. But unfortunately for Harry, the kerosene in the toilet has the opposite effect.
“In addition to the expected bumps, bruises, and general pains that you would associate with that particular type of physical humor, I did sustain serious burns to the top of my head during the scene where Harry’s hat is set on fire,” Pesci told the magazine.
While Pesci said he carried out the stunts in that specific Home Alone 2 scene, he added, “I was fortunate enough to have professional stuntmen do the real heavy stunts.”
Pesci appeared in the first two Home Alone movies, where he starred alongside Daniel Stern, who played his fellow thief Murray. After Pesci left the franchise, Home Alone continued to expand, adding Home Alone 3 in 1997, Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House in 2002, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist in 2012, and most recently, Home Sweet Home Alone in 2021.
Despite the popularity of the franchise, Pesci said his Home Alone days are far behind him. When asked about potentially appearing in another installment, Pesci told People, “While you never say never, I think that it would be difficult to replicate not only the success but also the overall innocence of the originals.”
He added, “It’s a different time now; attitudes and priorities have changed in 30 years.”
