The 'Traitor US' star admits he doesn't know what it was like to struggle when he first started out his career because his journey to fame was very easy.
- Jan 6, 2024
AceShowbiz - Alan Cumming is aware it is "annoying" he's never "struggled" in his career. The "Traitors US" host won't pretend he ever "had it hard" in his professional life because he's always had plenty of opportunities lined up in high-profile projects and never had to worry about where the next job came from.
"Young actors ask me, 'What was it like when you were struggling?' and I have to say, 'I don't know.' I made my film, theatre and TV debuts before I left drama school. Annoying," he told The Times newspaper.
"My first job in London was my own show, 'Victor and Barry', at the Donmar Warehouse, quickly followed by a show at the Royal Court that got me nominated for an Olivier. Annoying. The first time I ever worked in New York it was to star in a Broadway musical. The gods have shined. It's important not to pretend that I have had it hard in my work."
The 59-year-old star has spoken in the past about the abuse he, his brother Tom and mother Mary suffered at the hands of his dad Alec, but he is dismissive of "pocket psychology" that would suggest his turbulent home life led him into acting in order to gain the approval of audiences.
He said, "I don't buy into that because I've known lots of incredible artists with totally happy childhoods. However, I have muddied the waters a bit. I said in the book (memoir 'Not My Father's Son') that the qualities I had to have to engage with a raging human adult when I was little, these are also the qualities that make you a good actor."
"Reading the room, listening, acting - well, monitoring your behaviour to minimise its negative consequences, which I suppose is what acting is. But I don't think I am an actor because my father hit and abused me. I'm sure Meryl Streep had a very happy childhood."
Alan also feels "very lucky" to still be working, having recently looked back on old interviews he'd done and realising how many of his peers at the time are no longer in the spotlight. He said, "More often than not, I have to say, it would be women."
"There is this ruthless turnover of people in showbiz, but also it was fascinating to see this emphasis on youth laid out in front of me. So to have a career that is so long is going against the tide, to still be doing what I love, I feel very lucky."
