Buzz McCallister, portrayed by Devin Ratray in the iconic Christmas film Home Alone, is almost unrecognisable today compared to his on-screen days as Kevin McCallister's older sibling. The actor, who now 47, famously delivered memorable lines like "I'm going to feed you to my tarantula."
Since catapulting to stardom in Home Alone with Macaulay Culkin as the mischievous Kevin, Devin, who was just 13 at his acting debut, remained with the franchise, returning for Lost in New York in 1992 and once again revisiting his role as Buzz in 2021's Home Alone 6, also known as Home Sweet Home Alone.
Moving beyond the Home Alone series, Devin Ratray has been busy with a variety of roles in both film and television. He featured in movies such as Dennis the Menace (1993), The Prince and Me (2004), and R.I. P.D. (2013) among others, reports the Mirror.
His TV appearances have included shows like the 2017 series Mosaic and The Tick. Moreover, Devin lent his voice to the virtual world, voicing pedestrians in the acclaimed action-adventure video game Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018.
More recently, in 2022, he appeared in an episode of 'Better Call Saul' and the film 'Kimi'. With a striking ginger goatee and a notable height of 6 feet 1 inch, Devin hardly resembles the youthful character from his Home Alone era.
Despite the transformation, Devin often looks back fondly at his time on the film, sharing his pride over his involvement in the franchise on his Instagram account.
Devin, originally from New York City, continues to engage with his followers on Instagram with updates about his life, despite having taken a step back from his acting career. The actor, who still resides in the Big Apple as of 2024, frequently shares nostalgic posts about his early success in Home Alone, including a throwback photo posted on August 16, 2024, with the caption: "Coming home off the plane from shooting Home Alone," and noting he had "Just turned 13."
On September 11, 2024, he reminisced further by posting an image from the first Home Alone film, captioning it "Throwback Wednesday."
However, Devin's life away from the limelight has not been without controversy. In 2021, he was arrested on domestic violence charges following an incident where he allegedly attempted to strangle his girlfriend in a hotel room.
The altercation reportedly occurred after a disagreement over autographs at a bar during his guest appearance at OKC Pop Christmas Con in Oklahoma City. His attorney released a statement asserting, "Mr. Ratray denies he ever laid a hand on her or did anything in regards to anything like that."
Later, in February, Devin entered a guilty plea to two counts of domestic abuse, which allowed the 47-year-old to avoid jail time and brought closure to the prolonged legal matter in Oklahoma.
People magazine has reported that the actor has been ordered to undertake behaviour intervention plan classes, as well as being instructed to undergo drug and alcohol assessment. Devin was also given a no-contact order with the woman he admitted to assaulting.