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Alan Cumming

Acting

Born January 27, 1965 · Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, UK

Also known as Alan Cummings

Biography

Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, 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). His other Olivier-nominated roles were in The Conquest of the South Pole (1988), La Bête (1992), and Cabaret (1994). Cumming won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for reprising his role as the Emcee on Broadway in Cabaret (1998). His other performances on Broadway include Design for Living (2001) and Macbeth (2013). Cumming is known for his film roles in Circle of Friends (1995), GoldenEye (1995), Emma (1996), Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Buddy (1997), Spice World (1997), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), The Tempest (2010), Burlesque (2010), and Battle of the Sexes (2017). He is 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, and two Golden Globe Awards. Cumming also starred in the CBS series Instinct (2018–2019), the Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon! (2021–2023) and presents the Peacock reality game show, The Traitors. Cumming has written a novel, Tommy's Tale (2002), and two memoirs in 2014 and 2019. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alan Cumming, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • honorary doctorate · 2015
  • Great Immigrants Award · 2009
  • Theatre World Award · 1998
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Musical · 1998
  • Audie AwardNarration by the Author or Authors
Show all 9 awards →
  • Audie AwardBest Male Narrator
  • Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actor in a Musical
  • Laurence Olivier Awards
  • Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Filmography50+ titles

Me, Eloise

as (voice)

Butter

1994as Ronnie

Prodigal Son

2019as Simon Hoxley

Gargoyles

1994as John Castaway (voice)

The Mighty Nein

2025as Gustav (voice)

The Simpsons

1989as Loki (voice)

The L Word

2004as Billie Blaikie

Frasier

1993as Ahmrit

The Good Wife

2009as Eli Gold

Bubble Guppies

2006as The Glitch (voice)

Doctor Who

2005as King James

Abominable and the Invisible City

as Burnish (voice)

The Good Fight

2017as Eli Gold

Eyes Wide Shut

1999as Desk Clerk

3rd Rock from the Sun

1996as Angus 'The Hole' McDuff

Paris & Nicole: The Encore

2024as Narrator

Sex and the City

1998as Oscar

Dead End: Paranormal Park

2022as Harmony - Demonic Feaster on Fear (voice)

Bernard and the Genie

1991as Bernard Bottle

Chimp Crazy

2024as Self

Strange Magic

2015as Bog King (voice)

Burlesque

2010as Alexis

The Graham Norton Show

2007as Self

8 Out of 10 Cats

2005as Self

My Father's Dragon

2022as Cornelius the Crocodile (voice)

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

2018as Narrator (voice)

Broad City

2014as Alan Cumming

Any Day Now

2012as Rudy Donatello

X2: X-Men United

2003as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World

as Chuck Masters (voice)

Drive Back Home

2024as Perley

My Old School

2022as Brandon Lee

Schmigadoon!

2021as Mayor Aloysius Menlove

The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow

2013as Gutsy Smurf (voice)

Nicholas Nickleby

2002as Mr. Folair

GoldenEye

1995as Boris Grishenko

Saturday Night Live

1975as Self - Host

Who Do You Think You Are?

as Self

Instinct

2018as Dylan Reinhart

Battle of the Sexes

2017as Ted Tinling

Second Best

1994as Bernard

Briarpatch

2019as Clyde Brattle

Always at The Carlyle

2018as Self

Web Therapy

2011as Austen Clarke

Tin Man

2007as Glitch

Black Beauty

1994as Black Beauty (voice)

Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical

2006as Lecturer / Goat-Man / FDR

Emma

1996as Mr. Elton

Doctor Who: Unleashed

as Self

Genie

2023as Flaxman