Alan Cumming | |
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.jpg) Cumming in 2025 | |
| Born | (1965-01-27)27 January 1965 (age 60) Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Citizenship |
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| Education | Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1980–present |
| Notable work | Full list |
| Spouses | |
| Awards | Full list |
| Website | www |
Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, director, producer, writer and presenter. Known for his roleson stage and screen, he has receivednumerous accolades including aBAFTA Award, fiveEmmy Awards, twoTony Awards, and anOlivier Award. He received theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for theWest End production ofAccidental Death of an Anarchist (1991). His other Olivier-nominated roles were inThe Conquest of the South Pole (1988),La Bête (1992), andCabaret (1994). Cumming won theTony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for reprising his role as the Emcee onBroadway inCabaret (1998). His other performances on Broadway includeDesign for Living (2001), andMacbeth (2013).
Cumming is known for his film roles inCircle of Friends (1995),GoldenEye (1995),Emma (1996),Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997),Buddy (1997),Spice World (1997),Eyes Wide Shut (1999),Nicholas Nickleby (2002),The Tempest (2010),Burlesque (2010), andBattle of the Sexes (2017). He is also known for his roles asFegan Floop intheSpy Kids trilogy (2001–2003),Nightcrawler inX2 (2003) andAvengers: Doomsday (2026), andLoki inSon of the Mask (2005).
On television, Cumming is best known for his role in theCBS seriesThe Good Wife (2010–2016), for which he was nominated for threePrimetime Emmy Awards, twoScreen Actors Guild Awards, and twoGolden Globe Awards. Cumming also starred in theCBS seriesInstinct (2018–2019), theApple TV+ seriesSchmigadoon! (2021–2023) and presents thePeacock reality game showThe Traitors. Cumming has written a novel,Tommy's Tale (2002), and two memoirs in 2014 and 2019.[1][2]
Cumming was born on 27 January 1965 inAberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland.[3] His mother, Mary Darling, was an insurance company secretary and his father, Alex Cumming, was the head forester ofPanmure Estate, which is located nearCarnoustie, on the east coast of Scotland, and is where Cumming grew up.[4] He has described the environment as "feudal".[5] He has a brother, Tom, who is six years older,[5] and a niece and two nephews.[5] Cumming attendedMonikie Primary School andCarnoustie High School.[6]
In his autobiographyNot My Father's Son, Cumming describes the emotional and physical violence his father inflicted on him in his childhood.[7][8][9] His mother found it impossible to obtain a divorce until she was financially independent.[5] Cumming said that, after his early 20s, he did not have any communication with his father until just before the filming of his episode of the seriesWho Do You Think You Are? He then found out his father had believed that Cumming was not his biological son.[5] Later, Cumming and his brother took DNA tests that proved they were indeed his biological children.[7]
Cumming said that his difficult childhood taught him how to act by "needing to suppress my own emotions and feelings around him [his father] when I was a little boy".[10] He has described himself as having been a voracious reader as a child, particularly ofThe Famous Five series byEnid Blyton.[11][12]
In 1984, Cumming made his television debut inITV Granada'sTravelling Man, before going on to appear later in the 1980s in the Scottish Television seriesTake the High Road,Taggart andShadow of the Stone. Cumming made his film debut inGillies MacKinnon's short filmPassing Glory in 1986. His breakthrough television role was as Bernard Bottle in the Christmas 1991 BBC comedyBernard and the Genie, aRichard Curtis-scripted film in which he starred alongsideLenny Henry andRowan Atkinson. He also featured in a comic relief sketch in 1993 on the popular UK television showBlind Date with Atkinson playing Mr. Bean.[13]
After graduating from theRoyal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Cumming joined with fellow graduateForbes Masson to form the comedy duo Victor and Barry, appearing at the 1984Edinburgh Fringe and presenting television shows. In the 1990s, their popular characters were later reinvented as Steve and Sebastian forThe High Life television series.[14][15][16] The series was written by Cumming and Masson. In 1995, Cumming appeared in the seriesGhosts.
His feature film debut came in 1992 when he starred alongsideSandrine Bonnaire andBruno Ganz in Ian Sellar'sPrague, which premiered at theCannes Film Festival and earned him the Best Actor award at theAtlantic Film Festival and aScottish BAFTA Best Actor nomination. American audiences first saw him portraying the smarmy Sean Walsh, an unwanted suitor ofMinnie Driver's character, inCircle of Friends, an Irish film released in 1995. Also, in 1995, he played Boris Ivanovich Grishenko in theJames Bond filmGoldenEye.[17] He also played Mr. Elton inEmma in 1996.
Cumming began his theatre career in his native Scotland, performing in seasons with theRoyal Lyceum Edinburgh,Dundee Rep,The Tron Glasgow and tours with Borderline, Theatre Workshop and Glasgow Citizens' TAG. He played Slupianek in theTraverse Theatre's 1988 production ofConquest of the South Pole, which later transferred to theRoyal Court in London and earned him anOlivier Award nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. He went on to perform plays with theBristol Old Vic and theRoyal Shakespeare Company and played Valere inLa Bete at theLyric Hammersmith, London. In 1991, he played The Madman in the 1990Royal National Theatre production ofAccidental Death of an Anarchist byDario Fo, for which he won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance.[18][19][20] He also adapted the play with directorTim Supple. In 1993, he received great critical acclaim and theTMA Best Actor award for playing the title role in the 1993English Touring Theatre'sHamlet (playing opposite his then-wife,Hilary Lyon, in the role ofOphelia).
He gained prominence for his role as The Master of Ceremonies inSam Mendes's 1993 revival of the musicalCabaret in London's West End oppositeJane Horrocks asSally Bowles. He received anOlivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He reprised the role in 1998 for the Mendes-Rob Marshall Broadway revival, this time oppositeNatasha Richardson as Sally Bowles. He won aTony Award,Drama Desk Award andOuter Critics Circle Award for his performance.[21] Cumming had a minor role inStanley Kubrick's final film,Eyes Wide Shut (1999), as a hotel clerk who humorously flirts withTom Cruise's character; according to Cumming, he was required to go through six auditions for the role.[22] His first film in the United States was 1997'sRomy and Michele's High School Reunion, playing Sandy Frink oppositeLisa Kudrow andMira Sorvino.
Cumming co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced and co-starred in the ensemble filmThe Anniversary Party with friend and formerCabaret co-starJennifer Jason Leigh in 2001.[23] Other US stage roles include Otto in the 2001 Broadway production ofDesign for Living byNoël Coward and Mack the Knife in theBertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musicalThe Threepenny Opera oppositeCyndi Lauper. Cumming performed alongsideDianne Wiest inClassic Stage Company's production ofAnton Chekhov'sThe Seagull, directed by Viacheslav Dolgachev. In 2002, Cumming and then-boyfriend Nick Philippou formed the production company The Art Party. The company's first and only play was the first English production ofJean Genet's playElle, which Cumming had adapted from a literal translation by Terri Gordon. The company closed in 2003. Cumming's novel,Tommy's Tale, was published in 2002.[24]
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He has also written articles for magazines, notably as a contributing editor forMarie Claire, writing on thehaute couture shows in Paris, as well as what it was like for him dressing as a woman for a day. He also contributed articles toNewsweek,Modern Painters,Out,Black Book andThe Wall Street Journal. He has written introductions and prefaces to various books, including the works ofNancy Mitford,Andy Warhol andChristopher Isherwood, and wrote a chapter ofIf You Had Five Minutes with the President, a collection of 55+ essays by members or supporters of The Creative Coalition.[25]
In 2006, he returned to the West End playing the lead role inBent, a play about homosexuals in Germany under the Nazis. In 2007, he took the lead role in theNational Theatre of Scotland's production ofThe Bacchae, directed byJohn Tiffany, which premiered at theEdinburgh International Festival in August, transferring to theLyric Theatre in London and then toLincoln Center, New York, winning him the Herald Archangel award. Cumming introducedMasterpiece Mystery! forPBS, beginning in 2008. He played Eli Gold on the CBS television showThe Good Wife. He appeared as a guest star in the latter third of the first season, becoming a series regular in the show's 2010–2011 season.[26]
On 1 September 2009, Cumming released his first solo album based around his one-man show,I Bought a Blue Car Today.[27] Cumming returned to British television screens in 2011 to star as Desrae, a crossdresser, on the Sky seriesThe Runaway. He has also made several documentaries:My Brilliant Britain, about Scottish humour,The Real Cabaret in which he investigated the Weimar cabaret artistes, and the BBC'sWho Do You Think You Are? in 2010 in which he discovered his maternal grandfather was a war hero who had died playingRussian roulette.[5]
He collaborated again with Tiffany and theNational Theatre of Scotland in 2012, playing all the roles inMacbeth. He brought this critically acclaimed[28][29] production ofMacbethto New York's Lincoln Center in 2012 and to a 73-show Broadway engagement at theEthel Barrymore Theatre in 2013.Macbeth concluded its run on Broadway on 14 July 2013.[30]
In 2012, he narrated the audiobookMacbeth: A Novel, written by A.J. Hartley and David Hewson. The novel greatly expands upon the themes established in the play.[31] On 10 April 2012, he released the single "Someone Like the Edge of Firework".[32] In 2012, he launched his photography career with his first exhibition Alan Cumming Snaps.[33] In July 2012, Cumming presentedUrban Secrets onSky Atlantic and theTravel Channel where he uncovers hidden secrets in various urban areas including London and Brighton. In October 2013, Cumming appeared in the music video for "City of Angels" byThirty Seconds to Mars.[34] In 2014, he published his autobiography,Not My Father's Son, which deals with both his experiences growing up with an abusive father and the discoveries he made about his maternal grandfather's life while filmingWho Do You Think You Are?. That same year he returned again to Broadway to star inRoundabout Theater Company's revival production ofCabaret, directed again bySam Mendes.[35] Starring oppositeMichelle Williams,Cabaret opened 24 April 2014 and closed 29 March 2015. The run was extended originally from its 24-week engagement. The role of Sally changed during the production, when Williams left, to includeEmma Stone andSienna Miller.
On 7 June 2015, Cumming co-hosted the69th annual Tony Awards alongsideKristin Chenoweth. On 5 February 2016, Cumming released his second full-length album, recorded live at New York City'sCafé Carlyle,Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs: Live at the Cafe Carlyle.[36] He toured an aptly styled, intimate,cabaret-like live stage production following his success with the Carlyle recording. In November 2016,PBS aired a filming of his showAlan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs fromThe Smith Center in Las Vegas.[37] In 2016,NBC's1st Look visitedScotland for a special episode, featuring Alan Cumming. It featured areas of the country that are important to Cumming, and showcased Scotland through his eyes. The show was named Best Lifestyle Programme atthe Emmys' 60th annual awards ceremony at New York'sMarriott Marquis Broadway Ballroom.[38] Alan Cumming was cast as the lead character in theCBS seriesInstinct, an academic seeking to help theNYPD solve crimes.[39] In 2018, he playedKing James onthe eleventh series ofDoctor Who.[40] In September 2017, Cumming and promoterDaniel Nardicio opened a bar in Manhattan'sEast Village calledClub Cumming.[41]
In recent years, Cumming has been a regular contributor to theEdinburgh International Festival, with performances includingAlan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs in August 2016,[42]Alan Cumming is not Acting his Age in August 2021,[43] andBurn in August 2022: a one-man dance show co-produced by Edinburgh International Festival,National Theatre of Scotland andThe Joyce Theater, in which he played Scots poetRobert Burns[44] In 2020, he played inEndgame atThe Old Vic, co-starring withDaniel Radcliffe.[45] Starting in 2022, Cumming partnered with British-Australian actressMiriam Margolyes in a television series entitledMiriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland. The series follows the pair as they travel in amotorhome and explore Scotland. That same year, Cumming appeared inMy Old School, a documentary about the case ofBrandon Lee, a 32-year-old man exposed in 1995 as having attended a Scottish secondary school in the guise of a 17-year-old. Cumming appeared as an avatar for Lee, who did not want to appear on camera for the film, lip syncing to audio of his interviews. Cumming had previously planned to play Lee in a theatrical production in the late 90s which failed to materialize.[46]
In June 2021, Cumming was artistic director of theAdelaide Cabaret Festival, as announced in June 2020.[47] Later that year, he played Mayor Aloysius Menlove, the closeted small-town mayor of Schmigadoon, in theApple TV+ comedy musical seriesSchmigadoon![48] Since 2023, Cumming hosts the American version of the reality TV seriesThe Traitors.[49] In 2025, he hosted the first episode ofCNN'sMy Happy Place talking about his connection to theScottish Highlands and featuring his attendance at theGordon CastleHighland games.[50][51][52]
Cumming joinedPitlochry Festival Theatre as artistic director in January 2025, with his programmed season beginning in 2026.[53]
Later that year, Cumming starred in the short filmSleazy Tiger, written and directed by award-winning Scottish writerJames Ley, which had its world premiere at Palm Springs International Film Festival ShortFest, as part of the GAYLA! programme.[54][55] It also starredJay Newton and Jack Douglas. In July 2025, he was a guest host onJimmy Kimmel Live, when he criticised theUS government and PresidentDonald Trump over LGBT issues andtrans rights.[56]
In June 2025, Cumming voiced the character The Haberdasher in season five of theDisney Channel cartoon,Phineas and Ferb.[57][58] The eighth episode aired on 6 June 2025, and featured the character.[59] He produced theBaltimore run ofCeilidh, a musical based on the Scottishcèilidh tradition written by Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, and directed and choreographed by Tony winnerSam Pinkleton.[60]
Cumming is set to reprise his role as Nightcrawler fromX2 in theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmAvengers: Doomsday (2026).[61]
Cumming has promotedLGBT rights, MC-ing and attending fundraisers for organisations such as theGay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and theHuman Rights Campaign (HRC), and taking part in anEquality Network video campaign, from New York, promoting the legalisation ofsame-sex marriage in Scotland.[62] Cumming also supports several AIDS charities, including theAmerican Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. In 2005, he released an award-winning fragrance called "Cumming" and a related line of scented bath lotion and body wash. A second fragrance was launched in 2011, named "Second (Alan) Cumming", with all proceeds going to charity.[63]
He is a supporter of theScottish National Party andScottish independence.[64] He supported the'Yes' campaign in the run-up toScotland's referendum onindependence in September 2014.[5] In October 2014, Cumming and theBroadway cast ofCabaret collected donations forBroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[65] Cumming endorsed SenatorBernie Sanders in the2016 US presidential election.[66] In October 2023, he signed theArtists4Ceasefire open letter to American PresidentJoe Biden that called for a ceasefire of theIsraeli bombardment of Gaza.[67]
Cumming isbisexual.[68] His relationships include an eight-year marriage to actress Hilary Lyon, a two-year relationship with actressSaffron Burrows, and a six-year relationship with theatre director Nick Philippou.[8] In 2006, Cumming stated that he "would dearly like to adopt a child", but that his life was "too hectic" for the rearing of children.[69]
Cumming and his partner, illustrator Grant Shaffer, dated for two years before becomingcivil partners at theOld Royal Naval College inGreenwich, London, on 7 January 2007.[70] Cumming and Shaffer legally married in New York on 7 January 2012, the fifth anniversary of their London union.[71]
On 7 November 2008, Cumming became a dual-national and was sworn in as a citizen of the United States at a ceremony in Manhattan.[72][73]
Cumming has stated that since 2012 he has maintained avegan lifestyle.[74]PETA awarded him its Humanitarian Award in 2017.[75] Cumming is anatheist.[76]
Selected film credits:
In March 2005, Cumming received theVito Russo Award at the 16th AnnualGLAAD Media Awards for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia.[77] In July of the same year, he was presented with theHRC's Humanitarian Award in San Francisco, also for his LGBT public stance. In November 2006, Cumming received aDoctor of Arts honorary degree from theUniversity of Abertay Dundee, and in 2015 he received an honorary degree from theOpen University.[78] He also is a patron of theScottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's National Theatre "for and by" young people.
Cumming was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2009 Birthday Honours for services to film, theatre and the arts and to activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community in the United States.[79][80][81] On 27 January 2023, his 58th birthday, Cumming announced via his Instagram page that he had decided toreturn his OBE due to "misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity ofempire".[78]
Cumming has also been honoured for his activism and humanitarian work by organisations such as theTrevor Project and theMatthew Shepard Foundation.[39] In 2022, he received aTony Award for Best Musical as a producer of the musicalA Strange Loop.[82]
In 2025, Cumming was awarded a Doctor of Laws by theUniversity of St Andrews in recognition of his service to the arts.[83]
Actor, Producer and Presenter. For serv film, theatre and the arts and to activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community
He was honoured for services to film, theatre and the arts – and for his work as a bisexual, lesbian and gay rights campaigner. 'I have a voice because of my work. I'm loud and I speak my mind,' he said.
