Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965 in Aberfeldy, Scotland) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author.
He's best known for his roles as Nightcrawler inX2: X-Men United, Fegan Floop in theSpy Kids movie series, and Boris Grishenko inGoldenEye.
His stage appearances includeHamlet, the Broadway revival ofCabaret (for which he won a Tony for his very sexualized portrayal of the Emcee) andThe Threepenny Opera. In 2000 he directedThe Anniversary Party, in which he starred along withJennifer Jason Leigh. In 2002 he wrote a novel,Tommy's Tale. He starred as Eli Gold inThe Good Wife and is the current host ofMasterpiece Mystery onPBS andThe Traitors onPeacock.
His Film Roles Include:
His TV Roles Include:
His Audio Roles Include:
- Solar (2022-present) as Commander Alex Tawley
His Theatre Roles Include:
This actor provides examples of:
- Comically Missing the Point: He demanded a retraction re: a Wall Street Journal article thatthat suggested
that he wore acodpiece as the Emcee. - Dyeing for Your Art: Quite often, the most prominent example inX2. He had his limits, apparently; even in the behind-the-scenes footage, he stated he couldn't go through the makeup process again for the next film. This trope was the main reason he did not reprise the role forThe Last Stand.
- Fake Nationality: Constantly. As a Scotsman he's played Americans, a Brit (an American pretending to be a Brit), a German, an Irishman and a Russian just to name a few and is renowned for his ability to adopt each accent flawlessly.
- Large Ham: Many times, most notably when playing Boris Grishenko inGoldenEye and King James I inDoctor Who.
- Promoted Fanboy: He's a hugeDoctor Who fan and tried to get on the show for several years before it finally happened, which very much shows in the sheer glee of his performance.
- Self-Deprecating Humor: At his own last name, inthis cologne commercial. And yes, itactually exists.
- Not just that one time. When hostingSaturday Night Live he mentioned in his opening monologue thatBarbra Streisand inspired him with her autobiographyStreisand on Streisand to write his own memoir. You can guess the title.
