Alan Cumming (born January 27, 1965 in Perthshire, Scotland), is an actor of stage and screen, possibly best known for his performance in the film X2 as Nightcrawler and his stage performance as the Emcee in Cabaret.

Biography

After graduating from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1985, Cumming appeared in a six part series on British Television called Shadow of the Stone with Shirley Henderson in 1986. In 1991, he played the lead in a BBC Christmas special, Bernard and the Genie opposite Lenny Henry, and went on to star in the Scottish sitcom, The High Life, for which he also wrote the theme music, playing airline steward "Sebastian Flight".

He has often been utilised as a character actor —he was the hedonistic Lord Rochester in Plunkett and Macleane (1997) as well as the evil scientist Fegan Floop in Spy Kids and its sequels, directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Perhaps one of Cumming's most acclaimed performances was as the charismatic Emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of the popular stage musical Cabaret, for which he won a Tony as well as other awards that year.

His other stage roles have included Otto in the 2001 Broadway production of Design for Living by Noel Coward, the title role in the 1993 English Touring Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and "The Madman" in the 1990 Royal National Theatre production of Accidental Death of An Anarchist by Dario Fo.

In 2001 Cumming co-wrote and co-directed the ensemble film The Anniversary Party with friend Jennifer Jason Leigh, which they both starred in as a Hollywood couple.

His first novel "Tommy's Tale" (ISBN 0141003766) was published in 2002 and he was one half of Victor and Barry with Forbes Masson , a comedy act revolving around two members of a Glasgow amateur theatre group.

Cumming is known to date both men and women, and described himself as "a frolicky pansexual sex symbol for the new millennium." He is also an activist for gay rights organizations and AIDS charities including Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

He lives in New York and London with his dog Honey.

Film and television appearances

• Shadow of the Stone (1987)
• The Conquest of the South Pole (1988)
• Mr. Bean (1989)
• Bernard and the Genie (1991)
• Prague (1992)
• Micky Love (1993)
• Second Best (1994)
• GoldenEye (1995)
• Emma (1996)
• Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
• Titus (Saturninus) (1999)
• Plunkett and Macleane (1999)
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
• Spy Kids (2001)
• Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams (2002)
• X2 (Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner) (2003)
• Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
• Son of the Mask (2005)

External links

• official website