Alan Cumming

Alan Cumming is a Scottish actor, singer, writer, and activist whose career has moved between classical theatre, Broadway musicals, independent films, television, and cabaret. He was born on January 27, 1965, in Perth, Scotland, and grew up near Carnoustie in Angus. After studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, he became widely known in Britain through television and theatre, including his performance as Bernard in the BBC sitcom “Bernard and the Genie” and his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Cumming’s international breakthrough came with the 1995 James Bond film “GoldenEye,” in which he played the flamboyant Russian computer programmer Boris Grishenko. He later appeared as Fegan Floop, the eccentric television host, in Robert Rodriguez’s “Spy Kids” (2001), a role he reprised in “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams” and “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.” In the superhero film “X2: X-Men United” (2003), he portrayed Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler, a blue-skinned mutant with teleportation abilities.

On Broadway, Cumming earned a Tony Award in 1998 for playing the decadent master of ceremonies in the revival of “Cabaret.” He returned to the production in 2014 opposite Michelle Williams and later Emma Stone, receiving another Tony nomination. His stage work also includes “Design for Living,” “The Threepenny Opera,” “Macbeth,” and a one-person performance of “Hamlet.”

Television brought Cumming another defining character: Eli Gold, the politically skilled campaign manager and crisis strategist on “The Good Wife.” He played the role from 2009 through the series finale in 2016, earning multiple Emmy nominations. He subsequently starred as Dr. Dylan Reinhart, a university professor and mystery novelist who consults for the NYPD, in the CBS crime drama “Instinct.”

Cumming has also built a distinctive career as a cabaret performer, particularly through his long-running show “Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs.” His memoir, “Not My Father’s Son,” published in 2014, examines his difficult relationship with his father and the discovery of family history connected to the Second World War. Openly bisexual, Cumming has supported LGBTQ+ rights and other humanitarian causes. In 2009, he became a naturalized American citizen while retaining his British citizenship. He lives with illustrator Grant Shaffer; they married in 2012 after previously registering a civil partnership in London.