Home Alone’s Daniel Stern unveils lifelike bronze ‘Marv’ sculpture for film’s fully restored house

Home Alone remains one of the most popular movies in the United States. In fact, a 2026 YouGov survey reported it as America’s third-favorite film of all time. The original Home Alone house, the sprawling, brick McCallister family home located in Winnetka, Illinois, has become a place of pop culture pilgrimage. Currently undergoing renovations to return it to its ’90s glory (it was purchased for $5.5 million in 2025, per Realtor.com), the home is getting a special artistic addition: a bronze sculpture of Marv Merchants, created by Marv’s actor himself, Daniel Stern. Stern, who has left Hollywood to embark on a career as a sculptor, made a life-size sculpture of his legendary character from the scene with Kevin McCallister’s brother Buzz’s pet tarantula (named Axl) on his face. Stern is calling the statue “Marv by Marv.” “This new sculpture really forced me to take a good, hard look at myself. Now you can too. I hope you like what you see,” Stern shared on his Instagram. While pointing out cool details he included in the statue, Stern explains what the statue of the Wet Bandits character means to him: “You know how much I like making movies, and you know how much I like making sculptures. So I got an opportunity to combine them both!” he says in the reveal video. He adds that the home’s new owners commissioned him and the bronze sculpture will be kept in the living room. “I think they’re getting ready to unveil it in the next few months. But they said I could share it with you. So I want to show you my clay model,” he says as the camera pans to the model. “This is what I sculpted in clay. I got the iron on the head, the spider…I thought this would be a good moment to catch Marv in,” he says. “I made these hands with the gloves. That was kind of fun…the hands move around! So this is in their living room. I’m hoping people are playing with it on the table there! You have to have that big collar. Very stylish, Marv is. Look at those sideburns, come on!” He ends the video with a hilarious high-pitched scream, an ode to Marv and a treat for fans. How the tarantula scene went down In a 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stern shared tons of behind-the-scenes details about how the scene came together. “They said, ‘Well, we have a rubber one, but we’ve got the real one, too’,” he shared with the publication. “They told me [the tarantula] was real nice and showed it walking across the trainer’s arm.” The tarantula still had its stinger. Stern understandably asked the film crew if it could be removed, but was told it would kill the spider. He rebutted, “And I said yeah, but if you don’t take it out, I’ll die.” Bravely, Stern still went through with it, stinger and all. “But everyone seemed cool with it, so I just had them put the friggin‘ tarantula on my face,” he added. And the scream? It was 100% real, and required multiple takes. “I asked if that would spook the spider, but I guess tarantulas can’t hear,” Stern added. “Again, I was committed fully to that movie … I wanted to hit a home run in every scene.” Fans react Stern’s sculpture got lots of love from Home Alone fans who shared their excitement and enthusiasm in the comment section: “We now need a Joe Pesci with a blowtorched beanie.” “I can hear this sculpture! 😂” “EPIC WORK, MARV! … the sticky bandit…” “a full circle moment 😂♥️.” “So amazing! You’re a national treasure!” “🙌🙌🙌 That is fantastic! You are so talented! I love that something of yours will be part of the house. That’s as it should be 🙂 🙌🙌🙌” “That scream took me back to my childhood man. Back to when life was simple 🖤”