Alan Cumming is at it again.
The Scottish-born, naturalized American, actor and activist, of course, is enjoying quite a run.
Following his breakout, Tony Award winning turn in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret, Cumming has starred in big screen blockbusters like X2 (as the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler), on the small screen with an Emmy nominated role on The Good Wife, and with a string of theatre roles on both sides of the Atlantic.
After wedding husband Grant Schaffer in 2012, he reprised his Cabaret role opposite Emma Stone in a new Broadway revival, and scored a Lambda Literary nomination for his memoir Not My Father’s Son.
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This March, he debuts his first starring vehicle on network TV, the mystery series Instinct, where, as far as we can tell, will be the first openly gay actor to play a lead in a detective drama. The show will center on Cumming’s character as a former CIA operative, college professor and out-gay writer who becomes an unofficial detective (yes, all in the same character) on the trail of a serial killer.
Check out our brief rundown of what the queer Most Interesting Man In The World has been up to over the past couple years. We are exhausted just thinking about it.
Instinct premieres March 18 on CBS.
1. He hosted the Tony Awards
Channeling his role as the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret, Cumming took center stage as host of the Tony Awards back in 2016. His work garnered positive reviews, and he received an Emmy nomination for his performance.
2. He won an Emmy
Unrelated to his Tony Awards stint, Cumming also nabbed a regional New York Emmy for producing and hosting his own travel special, 1st Look: Scotland, which profiled his native land.
Related: Alan Cumming is opening a fabulous new nightclub in NYC and everyone’s invited
3. He did cabaret
No, not the show. Cumming actually has earned accolades for his own cabaret nightclub act, which has played in both New York and Las Vegas to wide acclaim. He also recorded an album of his act, and shot a TV special for PBS.
4. He opened a nightclub
Combining his love of cabaret and Cabaret, Cumming took over famed New York bar Eastern Bloc and converted it into Club Cumming (he does love to have fun with his name, doesn’t he?). The gay friendly venue features craft cocktails, noted DJs and regular live performances, including frequent guest spots by Cumming himself.
5. He wrote another book
Following up his memoir, Cumming released a photography book called You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams, featuring candid personal photographs and anecdotes from his life and career.
6. He had a role in Battle of the Sexes
Cumming showed up in the much-hyped Emma Stone/Steve Carrell drama Battle of the Sexes about the tennis face-off between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. As British tennis star Ted Tinling, Cumming injected some much-needed flamboyance into the film, and played a pivotal role in the coming out story of Ms. King. He also sported a full head of hair, as opposed to the shiny bald head the real Tinling showed off. Given Cumming’s thick Scottish locks, we’ll give it a pass.
7. He played with his dogs
Cumming and husband Grant have said they find their lives too hectic for kids. Instead, they adopted a pair of dogs, Jerry and Lala. Needless to say, the two turn up on Instagram on a frequent basis.
8. He starred in After Louie
You may not have seen it yet, or even heard of it, but Cumming starred in the festival circuit After Louie, a drama about a survivor of the AIDS crisis trying to educate younger generations about the scope and human cost of the pandemic. Though After Louie earned mixed notices and has yet to find a distributor, Cumming’s compelling, thoughtful performance is the best thing about it.
9. He took over as host of Masterpiece Mystery
Cumming stepped into the role of host on the long-running PBS series Mystery! As a lifelong fan of detective and mystery stories, Cumming delights in introducing each episode which include stories from famed mystery writers like Agatha Christie and popular shows like Sherlock. The host role comes with a good deal of prestige: Cumming follows in the footsteps of legends like Vincent Price and Dame Diana Rigg.
10. He shot a new series for CBS
Cumming stars in a detective show based on the popular novel Murder Games by James Patterson. Titled Instinct, Cumming will star as gay author Dylan Reinhart, a college professor who helps the NYPD track a serial killer. For those keeping track, that makes Cumming, as far as we can tell, the first out actor to play a gay lead on a detective series. The show also features Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, playing Reinhart’s brash agent. With a pilot directed by acclaimed director Mark Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man), the show will debut to much hype March 18.
But then again, how could we be surprised by that?
Check out the trailer for Instinct below:
Carabalda
Very excited about AC’s new show premiering tomorrow night, but you got its historical significance wrong above. You wrote “where, as far as we can tell, [Alan Cumming] will be the first openly gay actor to play a lead in a detective drama.” He’s actually the first openly gay actor to play a GAY lead in ANY NETWORK SERIES. Whether drama or comedy, there have been no gay characters in a leading role on network television (that is, not cable) until now. Imagine! And that gay character being played by an openly gay man makes this an even more significant and groundbreaking moment in television history. I wish Mr. Cumming and the show’s cast, creators and behind-the-scenes staff nothing but the very best. Maybe there will even be a Season 2?
Craig
Carabalda – “Whether drama or comedy, there have been no gay characters in a leading role on network television.” What about Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Modern Family?
scotshot
@Craig
Ferguson and the rest of the cast is an ensemble, meaning they don’t have to appear in every episode.
Donston
I thought this site was all about respecting self-identity? Last I checked Cummings still identifies as bi.
But yes, an openly gay leading character in a network drama is rather groundbreaking. It really shouldn’t be at this point. But it is.
jayceecook
According to Alan Cumming, Alan Cumming identifies as bisexual. When did that change?*
*I ask sarcastically
Donston
He seems to have snuffed out the bi talk in recent interviews and seem to be referring to himself as part of the “gay community”. The dude seems happy and settled. It’s all his perogative I suppose.
troyfight
probably a 5 on the kinsey scale then…eh. who cares.
bntlhj
No change. He’s playing a gay character now. He played a straight one on The Good Wife. He’s played a variety of roles over his career. The role he plays has nothing to do with his sexuality. He’s been outspoken on his bisexuality for years and is a great role model for the LGBT community. And to the other commenter, there’s nothing unsettled about being bisexual.
Billy Budd
He did a lot of stuff. But he was at the height of his career when he played a bizarrely effeminate, flamboyant and aggressively sexual gay hotel desk clerk in EYES WIDE SHUT, filming a scene opposite Tom Cruise. When he hits on Cruise, you can see the primal fear in Tom Cruise’s face.
Polaro
Years ago in NYC I bought Alan Cumming’s assistant a drink at a bar. He was such a kunt that I have hated Alan Cumming ever since, even though Alan wasn’t even there. Yeah, makes no sense, but there you are.
latinodad
He’s gay. He has a husband.
scififreak
Having a husband doesn’t make him gay. It makes him a bisexual man married to another man. Being married to someone of the same sex or the opposite sex doesn’t change a bisexual’s orientation.
RIGay
Okay.
1) I really wish “March Madness” were over – Basketball is SO overrated.
2) I caught the first 50 minutes of the pilot episode (thanks to item 1 pushing the whole Sunday night lineup out…) – It felt… flat. I felt like I was watching a modern update of “Murder, she wrote”, where the killer was telegraphed from second segment and it was up to Jessica Fletcher to put the clues together. I was expecting something… smarter; along the lines of “Elementary” or “Sherlock” (okay, not fair, both are one in the same).
Loved AC. Good role for him, but the material was just… lacking. Loved the cameo by Whoopie. I hope future episodes are a bit more… thought-provoking and less delayed by senseless, overrated sports.
cynthia_foxe
big deal. he still a gross fug
Billy Budd
Here is his best scene in a movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoNZIyorfV8