‘Home Alone 2’ Pigeon Lady Brenda Fricker laments: Christmas ‘can be very dark’ for those home alone

“Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” actress Brenda Fricker is putting out a reminder during this COVID-hampered holiday season — the holidays can be very difficult for those who are home alone.

The Irish actress, 75, who played the reclusive Pigeon Lady in the Christmas classic “Home Alone 2,” spoke on Irish Radio 1 about the holidays on Dec. 21.

“I would be lying if I said that it would be a nice and happy Christmas because I’m one of those people, I’m old and I live alone. It can be very dark,” Fricker said. 

The actress, who won an Oscar for best supporting actress in “My Left Foot,” noted that it is telling that her most famous character, the “Home Alone 2” Pigeon Lady, “was very much on her own.”

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But there are many more people who are isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, she said.

“I don’t want to be sounding kind of negative. But it is a different kind of Christmas, that’s all,” said Fricker.

This year, the Dublin-based Fricker said she took efforts to bring cheer, such as putting lights in her window and decorating for the season. 

“I put up Christmas lights, give me some marks for that,” she laughed. “That’s a huge achievement for me.”

But she is planning to lay low over Christmas with her dog companion.

“I just turn the phone off and put the blinds down. I pre-record some good programs and things. I have my dog and I get myself through it that way,” Fricker said.

“I don’t find Christmas all that difficult,” she added, saying it is New Year’s Eve and the midnight sounds of nearby church bells that are difficult with “no one to turn around to hug or smile at” to usher in the new year.

Fricker also answered listeners’ questions on air, saying she had not spoken with “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin.

“I worry about him. But I’m not in touch with him,” said Fricker.

Macaulay Culkin in front of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, in a scene from “Home Alone 2.”

 (Photo: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox)

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