One word which Alan Cumming uses to describe his career is ‘peripatetic’. If one word could describe his personality, ‘alive!’ would capture it – the exclamation mark is mandatory.
Here is an actor who has never been out of work since drama school in Glasgow, who sometimes plays a game of saying ‘yes’ to everything, has never been short of romantic company and still finds the time and energy to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and for Scotland.
His success, however, provides a counterpoint to the ravages of his early life. I can’t look at treated wood now without thinking of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. Although he and his brother eventually confronted their father, ‘No one ever fully recovers from their past’. With his mother’s support, he worked first as a journalist then found his calling at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He’s barely drawn breath since.
Cumming highlights the (impossibly long list of) roles which have cemented his stage and film career, paying particular attention to Hamlet and the Emcee in Cabaret. If ever asked, however, which is his favourite he answers with the role he played in the 1997 film, Spice World. This neatly encapsulates his embrace of both high and low-brow art. He now looks at this as his ‘Hollywood bank’, depositing income from commercial roles, which allow him to do less-commercial passion projects.
Can this success on stage and screen transfer to the page, though? Reading the first paragraph of the chapter ‘Primatology’ will dispel any misgivings. Cumming writes with openness, candidness and authenticity. In Baggage, his love of life – in all its myriad forms – jumps off the page.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Cumming FRSE (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for the West End production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1991). Cumming won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for reprising his role as the Emcee on Broadway in Cabaret (1998).
Cumming is known for his film roles in Circle of Friends (1995), GoldenEye (1995), Emma (1996), Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), Spice World (1997), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Nicholas Nickleby(2002), The Tempest (2010), Burlesque (2010), and Battle of the Sexes (2017). He also known for his roles as Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy (2001–2003), Nightcrawler in X2 (2003), and Loki in Son of the Mask(2005).
On television, Cumming is best known for his role in the CBS series The Good Wife (2010–2016), for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards. Cumming also starred in the CBS series Instinct (2018–2019) and the Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon! (2021–2023). Cumming has written a novel, Tommy’s Tale (2002), and two memoirs in 2014 and 2019.
0 Comments