Alan Cumming
, OBE (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor. His roles have included Boris in Goldeneye
, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United
, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids
trilogy. He has also appeared in independent films like The Anniversary Party
, which he wrote, directed and starred; and Ali Selim's Sweet Land
for which he won an Independent Spirit award as producer.
His London stage appearances include Hamlet
, Madman in Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist
for which he received an Olivier award, the lead in Martin Sherman's Bent
and as Dionysus in The National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae
. On Broadway he has appeared as Mac the Knife in The Threepenny Opera
and the Emcee in Cabaret
for which he won the Tony in 1998.
He has also written a novel Tommy's Tale
, contributed to many publications, and performs with his band I Bought A Blue Car Today
on a regular basis.
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ALAN CUMMING TICKETS
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Early life
Cumming was born in
Aberfeldy, in
Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Mary, an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming, a forester.
[1] [2] He has one older brother, Tom. Brought up in
Angus, Cumming attended
Monikie Primary School and
Carnoustie High School and originally aspired to a career in veterinary medicine; but a personality clash with his biology teacher put him off the idea and he subsequently set his sights on becoming an actor.
[3] Following graduation, he spent a year and a half employed as an editor for the Scottish pop magazine TOPS before entering the
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in
Glasgow.
Film
Cumming played Sean Walsh, the wealthy but unwanted suitor of
Minnie Driver's character in "
Circle of Friends", an Irish film released in 1995.
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.
[4] The two starred in the movie as a
Hollywood couple.
Cumming plays a psychotic ex-amusement park employee in David Munro's
Full Grown Men
, which was shown in theaters throughout the U.S. in summer 2008.
In 1995 he played
Boris Ivanovich Grishenko in the James Bond film
GoldenEye
.
In 2009, Cumming will provide the voice of
Adolf Hitler in the film
Jackboots on Whitehall
.
During his career, Cumming has also directed two short films,
Butter
and
Burn Your Phone
- the latter began its life as a one-off drama on
BBC Radio 4.
Television
In the mid-1980s Cumming made brief appearances in Scottish television shows including
Take The High Road and
Taggart. His first major television role was in the Christmas 1991 comedy
Bernard and the Genie
, a
Richard Curtis-scripted one-off show where he starred alongside
Lenny Henry and
Rowan Atkinson.
Cumming starred as Sebastian Flight in the Scottish sitcom
The High Life
in 1994-5. The series was written by Cumming and co-star
Forbes Masson, continuing an acting-writing partnership the two had developed since their drama school days. Masson and Cumming also formed a cult Kelvinside musical double act "Victor and Barry", which was filmed for an stv show and were nominated for a Perrier Award in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1988, toured Australia in 1989, playing the Sydney Opera House, but were killed off onstage at the London Palladium in the early 1990s.
In 2001, he guest starred in the HBO comedy
Sex and the City
as O the designer in the episode, 'The Real Me'. 2003 saw him playing a cameo role in the American sitcom
Frasier
, playing Niles's yoga instructor.
In 2004, he starred in
Showtime's
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
in which he played the role of The Lecturer - a versatile character who narrates the story and transforms himself into several other minor characters. Shortly afterwards, he had a short role in
Richard Bell's feature film
Eighteen
.
Cumming played the role of Bill Blaikie, a party promoter hired by
Kit Porter to manage her café cum nightclub, in season 3 of
The L Word
. He appeared in episodes 2 to 7, which originally aired on
Showtime in 2006.
In
Gray Matters
, a 2007 romantic comedy film directed by Sue Kramer, Cumming plays cab driver Gordy who had a crush on Gray (Heather Graham). It premiered on October 21, 2006 at the Hamptons International Film Festival and had a U.S. theatrical release on February 23, 2007.
In 2007, Cumming played Glitch/Ambrose, an inventor whose brain had been partially removed, in the TV miniseries,
Tin Man
. He also provided the voice of Chuck Masters, a 50 year-old, paralyzed, HIV-positive gay man in
Logo's Rick and Steve
, a stop animation sitcom created by
Q. Allan Brocka.
He is also the host of the 2008 season of the PBS 'Mystery' series.
Cumming also appeared as the third celebrity hijacker in
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
, giving the housemates a
method acting task in which they had to stay in character all day and then produce an improvised play.
Theatre
Cumming played the Emcee in the 1998
Broadway revival of
Cabaret
, for which he won a
Tony, as well as other awards.
He had previously played the role in a production at
London's Donmar Warehouse theatre, for which he had been nominated for an
Olivier Award.
[5] Both productions were directed by
Sam Mendes.
Other stage roles have included Otto in the 2001 Broadway production of
Design for Living
by
Noel Coward, Valere in David Hirson's
La Bete
, the title role in the 1993
English Touring Theatre's
Hamlet
(playing opposite his then-wife,
Hilary Lyon, in the role of
Ophelia), and The Madman in the 1990
Royal National Theatre production of
Accidental Death of an Anarchist
by
Dario Fo, for which he won an Olivier Award.
[6]
In 2002, Cumming and then-boyfriend British director
Nick Philippou formed the production company
The Art Party
. The company's first play was the first English production of
Jean Genet's play
Elle
, which Cumming had adapted from a literal translation by Terri Gordon. The company folded in 2003.
In 2006, Cumming returned to the stage, firstly performing in a revival of the
Bertolt Brecht-
Kurt Weill musical
The Threepenny Opera
opposite
Cyndi Lauper. They later performed at the
Tony Awards. In late 2006, he appeared in the
West End playing the lead role in
Bent
, a play about homosexuals in Germany under the Nazis. In 2007 he took the lead role in the National Theatre of Scotland's production of
The Bacchae
, which premiéred at the
Edinburgh Festival in August, transferring to the
Lyric Theatre in London during September.
Cumming performed alongside
Dianne Wiest in Classic Stage Company's production of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull
, directed by
Viacheslav Dolgachev.
He has been confirmed to play the
Green Goblin in the new musical
Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark
which will begin previews at the
Hilton Theatre on Broadway February 25, 2010.
[7]
Other work
Cumming has also dabbled in other media. His first novel,
Tommy's Tale
, was published in 2002.
[8] He has also written many articles for magazines, notably as a contributing editor for
Marie Claire
magazine, writing articles about the haute couture shows in Paris. In addition to various film and musical soundtracks on which he has appeared, in 2001, he recorded a duet of "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" with Liza Minnelli to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the September 11 Fund.
He also has his own range of beauty products, the initial product being a cologne called "Cumming: the Fragrance", as well as a series of other bath/body products.
[9]
Cumming served as a delegate for the
Creative Coalition during the 2004
Democratic National Convention in Boston.
[10] In this same vein, he contributed to
If You Had Five Minutes with the President
, an original non-partisan collection of 55+ essays by members or supporters of The Creative Coalition.
[11]
Recent projects include adapting his novel for the screen, and several gay-themed films:
Gray Matters
,
Coming Out
and
Suffering Man's Charity
.
In 2009 he played eccentric billionaire Austen Clarke alongside Lisa Kudrow on the internet sitcom
Web Therapy.
Personal life
Cumming divides his time between
New York City and
London with his dog, Honey.
[12] He has dated both men and women, and was once described in
The Observer
as "a frolicky pan-sexual sex symbol for the new millennium". He has stated that he thinks of himself as
bisexual.
[13]
In 1985, he married Hilary Lyon. They divorced in 1993.
He wed graphic artist Grant Shaffer in a civil ceremony at the
Old Royal Naval College Greenwich on January 7, 2007.
[14] The couple met in 2004 and dated for two years before the union. In a profile for
The Times
, he stated that he "would dearly like to adopt a child."
[15] In March 2005, he was honoured with the
Vito Russo Award at the 16th Annual
GLAAD Media Awards for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia.
[16]
In November 2006, he was made a
Doctor of Arts when given an
honorary degree from the
University of Abertay Dundee.
Cumming is an
LGBT rights activist, and has promoted gay rights on both sides of the Atlantic with organisations such as
GLAAD and the
HRC, as well as working for several
AIDS charities, including
AMFAR and Broadway Cares/
Equity Fights AIDS. He is also a member of the
Creative Coalition, an organisation to bring public awareness of social issues. He was presented with the San Francisco
Human Rights Campaign's Humanitarian Award in 2005.
Cumming is one of the patrons of
Scottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's National Theatre 'for and by' young people. He became a patron of
NORM-UK, an
English registered charity concerned with the
foreskin and
genital integrity.
[17] [18]
On November 7, 2008, he was sworn in as a
citizen of the United States of America at a ceremony in New York City.
[19] [20]
Cumming was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 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.
[21] [22]
Filmography
| Year
| Film
| Role
| Other notes
|
| 1987
| Shadow of the Stone
| Tom Henderson
| (TV Series)
|
| 1991
| Bernard and the Genie
| Bernard Bottle
| (TV Movie)
|
| 1992
| Prague
| Alexander Novak
|
|
| 1993
| Micky Love
| Greg Deane
| (TV Movie)
|
| Mr. Bean
| Bachelor #2 (uncredited)
| (TV Series)
|
| 1994
| Second Best
| Bernard
|
|
| Black Beauty
| Black Beauty (voice)
|
|
| 1995
| Circle of Friends
| Sean Walsh
|
|
| GoldenEye
| Boris Ivanovich Grishenko
|
|
| The High Life
| Sebastian Flight
| (TV Series)
|
| 1996
| Emma
| Mr. Elton
|
|
| 1997
| Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
| Sandy Frink
|
|
| Spiceworld
| Piers Cuthbertson-Smyth
|
|
| Buddy
| Dick Croner, Trudy's Assistant
|
|
| 1999
| Titus
| Saturninus
|
|
| Plunkett and Macleane
| Lord Rochester
|
|
| Eyes Wide Shut
| Hotel Desk Clerk
|
|
| ''Annie
| Rooster
|
|
| 2000
| Urbania
| Brett
|
|
| God, the Devil and Bob
| The Devil
| (TV Series)
|
| The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
| Mick Jagged/Gazoo
|
|
| Get Carter
| Jeremy Kinnear
|
|
| 2001
| The Anniversary Party
| Joe Therrian
|
|
| Sex and the City
| O
| (TV Series)
|
| Investigating Sex
| Sevy
|
|
| Josie and the Pussycats
| Wyatt Frame
|
|
| Spy Kids
| Fegan Floop
|
|
| Company Man
| General Batista
|
|
| 2002
| Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
| Fegan Floop
|
|
| Nicholas Nickleby
| Mr. Folair
|
|
| Foyle's War
| host (himself)
| (TV series)
|
| 2003
| X2
| Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler
|
|
| Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
| Fegan Floop
|
|
| 2004
| Shoebox Zoo
| Bruno the Bear
| (TV Series)
|
| Garfield
| Persnikitty
| (voice)
|
| Eighteen
| Father Chris
|
|
| 2005
| Son of the Mask
| Loki
|
|
| Reefer Madness
| Lecturer/Goat-Man/FDR
|
|
| Ripley Under Ground
| Jeff Constant
|
|
| Neverwas
| Jake
|
|
| Sweet Land
| Frandsen
|
|
| 2006
| The L Word
| Billie Blaikie
| (TV Series)
|
| Full Grown Men
| The Hitchhiker
|
|
| 2007
| Gray Matters
| Gordy
|
|
| Suffering Man's Charity
| John Vandermark
|
|
| Tin Man
| Glitch
| (TV miniseries)
|
| 2009
| Jackboots on Whitehall
| Hitler
| (voice)
|
| Boogie Woogie
| Dewey
|
|
| Dare
| Grant Matson
|
|
| The Tempest
| Sebastian
|
|
Bibliography
References
- "Cumming out on top." guardian.co.uk 13 February 2003.
- ''Alan Cumming Biography (1965-)''. Film Reference.com.
- "Alan Cumming." ''Then It Must Be True.com''. May 2001.
- ''Interview: Alan Cumming''. BarnesandNoble.com. 18 January 2002.
- ''Alan Cumming - Details''. Cinema.com.
- ''Alan Cumming Biography''. Lycos Movies.
- Gans, Andrew.Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming Cast in Spider-Man Turn Off the Darkplaybill.com, June 26, 2009
- Cumming, 2002
- ''Cumming The Fragrance''.
- ''The Creative Coalition Press release''. The Creative Coalition.com. 28 July 2004.
- ''The Renaissance Man''. AlanCumming.com.
- McQuaid, Peter. "The artful swinger - bisexual actor Alan Cumming - Brief Article - Interview." ''The Advocate''. 28 September 1999.
- Walsh, Jeff. "Alan Cumming: Interview." ''Oasis Journals''. November 2007.
- Finn, Natalie. ''Alan Cumming Groomed for Marriage''. EOnline.com. 8 January 2007.
- Title Unavailable
- ''GLAAD To Honor Billy Crystal, Alan Cumming at 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Presented by Absolut Vodka''. GLAAD Press Release. 7 March 2005.
- NORM-UK News Item: "Film Star Wants the Foreskin to be with you." Norm-uk.org. 11 June 2007.
- "X-Man Nixes Circs." Circumstitions.com. 11 June 2007.
- Cumming's Blog
- Seen The Future, Got The T-Shirt
- [1]
- {{LondonGazette |issue=59090 |date=13 June 2009 |startpage=24 |supp=yes |notarchive=yes}}