51 Facts About Alan Cumming

1.

Alan Cumming was born on 27 January 1965 and is a Scottish actor.

2.

Alan Cumming then played Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy, Nightcrawler in X2, and Loki in Son of the Mask.

3.

On television, Cumming is best known for his role in the CBS series The Good Wife, for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Satellite Award.

4.

Alan Cumming has written a novel, Tommy's Tale, an autobiography, Not My Father's Son: A Memoir, and a topical memoir, Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life.

5.

Alan Cumming had a cable talk show called Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming and produced a line of perfumed products labelled "Cumming".

6.

Alan Cumming has contributed opinion pieces to many publications and performed the cabaret shows I Bought a Blue Car Today and Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs.

7.

Alan Cumming was born on 27 January 1965 in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland.

8.

Alan Cumming's mother, Mary Darling, was an insurance company secretary and his father, Alex Cumming, was the head forester of Panmure Estate, which is located near Carnoustie, on the east coast of Scotland, and is where Cumming grew up.

9.

Alan Cumming has a brother, Tom, who is six years older, and a niece and two nephews.

10.

Alan Cumming's brother is a property manager in Southampton, England.

11.

Alan Cumming's mother found it impossible to obtain a divorce until she was financially independent.

12.

Alan 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".

13.

Alan Cumming made his film debut in Gillies MacKinnon's short film Passing Glory in 1986.

14.

Alan Cumming had a minor role in Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, as a hotel clerk who humorously flirts with Tom Cruise's character; according to Alan Cumming, he was required to go through six auditions for the role.

15.

Alan Cumming co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced and co-starred in the ensemble film The Anniversary Party with friend and former Cabaret co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh in 2001.

16.

In 2022, Alan Cumming appeared in My Old School, a documentary about the case of Brandon Lee, a 32-year-old man exposed in 1995 as having attended a Scottish secondary school in the guise of a 17-year-old.

17.

Alan 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.

18.

Alan Cumming had previously planned to play Lee in a theatrical production in the late 90s which failed to materialize.

19.

In 1984, Alan Cumming made his television debut in ITV Granada's Travelling Man, before going on to appear later in the 1980s in the Scottish Television series Take the High Road, Taggart and Shadow of the Stone.

20.

Alan Cumming featured in a comic relief sketch in 1993 on the popular UK television show Blind Date with Atkinson playing Mr Bean.

21.

Alan Cumming went on to star as flight attendant Sebastian Flight in the BBC2 sitcom The High Life in 1995.

22.

Alan Cumming returned to British television screens in 2011 to star as Desrae, a crossdresser, on the Sky series The Runaway.

23.

Alan Cumming played Eli Gold on the CBS television show The Good Wife.

24.

Alan Cumming was cast as the lead character in the CBS series Instinct, an academic seeking to help the NYPD solve crimes.

25.

Alan Cumming hosted the reality TV series The Traitors in 2023.

26.

Alan Cumming began his theatre career in his native Scotland, performing in seasons with the Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Dundee Rep, The Tron Glasgow and tours with Borderline, Theatre Workshop and Glasgow Citizens' TAG.

27.

Alan Cumming played Slupianek in the Traverse Theatre's 1988 production of Conquest of the South Pole, which later transferred to the Royal Court in London and earned him an Olivier Award nomination as Most Promising Newcomer.

28.

Alan Cumming went on to perform plays with the Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company and played Valere in La Bete at the Lyric Hammersmith, London.

29.

Alan Cumming played the role of The Master of Ceremonies in Sam Mendes's 1993 revival of the musical Cabaret in London's West End opposite Jane Horrocks as Sally Bowles.

30.

Alan Cumming received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

31.

Alan Cumming reprised the role in 1998 for the Mendes-Rob Marshall Broadway revival, this time opposite Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles.

32.

Alan Cumming won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance.

33.

Alan Cumming performed alongside Dianne Wiest in Classic Stage Company's production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Viacheslav Dolgachev.

34.

The company's first and only play was the first English production of Jean Genet's play Elle, which Alan Cumming had adapted from a literal translation by Terri Gordon.

35.

Alan Cumming collaborated again with Tiffany and the National Theatre of Scotland in 2012, playing all the roles in Macbeth.

36.

Alan Cumming brought this critically acclaimed production of Macbeth to New York's Lincoln Center in 2012 and to a 73-show Broadway engagement at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 2013.

37.

Alan Cumming has written articles for magazines, notably as a contributing editor for Marie Claire, writing on the haute couture shows in Paris, as well as what it was like for him dressing as a woman for a day.

38.

Alan Cumming contributed articles to Newsweek, Modern Painters, Out, Black Book and The Wall Street Journal.

39.

Alan Cumming has written introductions and prefaces to various books, including the works of Nancy Mitford, Andy Warhol and Christopher Isherwood, and wrote a chapter of If You Had Five Minutes with the President, a collection of 55+ essays by members or supporters of The Creative Coalition.

40.

In March 2005, Alan Cumming received the Vito Russo Award at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia.

41.

In November 2006, Alan Cumming received a Doctor of Arts honorary degree from the University of Abertay Dundee, and in 2015 he received a honorary degree from the Open University.

42.

Alan Cumming is a patron of the Scottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's National Theatre "for and by" young people.

43.

Alan Cumming was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2009 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.

44.

On 27 January 2023, his 58th birthday, Alan Cumming announced via his Instagram page that he had decided to return his OBE due to "misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire".

45.

Alan Cumming has been honoured for his activism and humanitarian work by organisations such as the Trevor Project and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

46.

Alan Cumming's relationships include an eight-year marriage to actress Hilary Lyon, a two-year relationship with actress Saffron Burrows and a six-year relationship with theatre director Nick Philippou.

47.

In 2006, Alan Cumming stated that he "would dearly like to adopt a child", but that his life was "too hectic" for the rearing of children.

48.

On 7 November 2008, Alan Cumming became a dual-national and was sworn in as a citizen of the United States at a ceremony in Manhattan.

49.

Alan Cumming has stated that since 2012 he has maintained a vegan lifestyle.

50.

Alan Cumming is a supporter of the Scottish National Party and Scottish independence.

51.

Alan Cumming endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 US presidential election.