Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE, is a Scottish character actor, author, and activist who has appeared in numerous films, television shows and plays. His London stage appearances include Hamlet, the Maniac in Accidental Death of an Anarchist, the lead in Bent, and the National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae. On Broadway he has appeared in The Threepenny Opera, as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret, Design for Living and a one-man adaptation of Macbeth. His best-known film roles include his performances in...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth27 January 1965
CityAberfeldy, Scotland
A sweaty Macbeth with blood on his arms coming in fresh from the battle doesn't interest me.
He ... knew, in that instant, that his life would not be an easy one-he was different, he looked different, he thought differently.
My feeling about work is it's much more about the experience of doing it than the end product. Sometimes things that are really great and make lots of money are miserable to make, and vice versa.
It is not hard to feel like an outsider. I think we have all felt like that at one time or another.
It's really rare for film directors to be that interested in things other than themselves.
Nowadays people don't know how to handle it if all the ends aren't tied up and they're not told what to think in films. And if they're challenged, they think it's something wrong with the film.
You'll see Dame Judi Dench in a Bond film, in Shakespeare and then starring in her own sitcom. You never see that here with Meryl Streep.
For example, Americans seem reluctant to take on Shakespeare because you don't think you're very good at it - which is rubbish. You're missing out here.
You should *have* an experience; it shouldn't just *be* an experience.
Be who you like as long as you mean it.
Actors aren't stupid, mostly, and if there's a sensibility and an aesthetic that a director's going for, if you're aware of that too, you can do things to help that.
Sometimes people get really sniffy about the films you choose if you've done more dramatic projects or you're classically trained.
Kids are more genuine. When they come up and want to talk to you, they don't have an agenda. It's more endearing and less piercing to your aura.
I'm quite good, though I say it myself, at making strangers feel at ease.