Michael Maronna

Michael C. Maronna is an American actor born on September 27, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked as a firefighter and his mother as a guidance counselor. He is of Italian, Irish, and Dutch descent — specifically one half Italian, three-eighths Irish, and one-eighth Dutch — and was the first grandchild in a large family that also included a younger brother and sister. He attended Hunter College High School in New York City and later enrolled at Purchase College of the State University of New York, where he studied documentary and nonfiction filmmaking.

Maronna began his performance career at a young age, with his first on-screen appearance coming in a Scott Paper commercial. His Broadway work spans the years 1987 to 1989 and includes productions of All My Sons, Shenandoah, and Coastal Disturbances. Around the same period, he transitioned into television, taking on the role of older Pete Wrigley in Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete, a series that ran from 1989 to 1996.

He is also widely recognized for playing Jeff McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), appearing in those films at ages 13 and 15 respectively. His character's line directed at Kevin McCallister — "Kevin, you are such a disease!" — gained broad popular recognition. Additional television credits include a guest appearance as a teenage killer on Law & Order and a role in Sex and the City.

In 1999, Maronna appeared in a prominent advertising campaign for TD Ameritrade, portraying a character named Stuart, a slacker employee who enthusiastically guides his clueless boss through using the internet. He reprised that character in a comedy reel alongside Bill Clinton, which was screened at Clinton's final appearance as president at the 2000 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. During the 2000s, Maronna appeared in the films Slackers and 40 Days and 40 Nights, as well as in Be Kind Rewind. He also appeared in music videos for the Nada Surf song "Whose Authority" (2007) and The XYZ Affair's "All My Friends."

Maronna stepped away from acting in 2013 and subsequently worked as an electrician on film and television productions in New York. He co-hosts the podcast The Adventures of Danny and Mike alongside his Adventures of Pete & Pete co-star Danny Tamberelli. He returned to acting in the 2020s.