BWW Profile: Alan Cumming Emmy-Nominated, Tony Winning Star of Stage and Screen

It's time to look at the multi-faceted career of Alan Cumming. Known for his his iconic Tony Award winning performance in Sam Mendes' 1993 revival of CABARET as the Master of Ceremonies as well as many other memorable roles, Cumming has come into his own as one of the stars of CBS's smash hit, THE GOOD WIFE.

He was born in Aberfeldy, Perthshire in Scotland in 1965. He was raised in Angus and wrote his autobiography NOT MY FATHER'S SON about his tumultuous and abusive home life with his father. He currently resides in Manhattan with his husband who he has been together with since 2007. Cumming promotes LGBT rights and participates in many organizations to promote equality. He gained dual citizenship to the U.S. in 2008.

To call his career "storied" would be an understatement. He began on British television in the mid-1980's and has since made a variety of appearances in shows ranging from 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN to SEX AND THE CITY to his Emmy-nominated in THE GOOD WIFE. In 2007, he performed as the Scarecrow-esque character "Glitch" in the underrated TV Miniseries TIN MAN. On THE GOOD WIFE, Cumming portrays Eli Gold, the campaign manager for Alicia's husband, Peter who is later promoted to his Chief-of-Staff. The character is loosely based on Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emmanuel. Cumming was promoted to series regular in Season Two and has since been a fan favorite.

In film, he had a stretch of playing the bad guy from the evil Sean Walsh in CIRCLE OF FRIENDS or the shady computer programmer in GOLDENEYE. Cumming has a sinister charm about him that he can also turn around and be delightful as indicated in ROMY & MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. He can portray the superhero Nightcrawler in X2: X-MEN UNITED and then do a 180 and take turns in film adaptations of TITUS and THE TEMPEST. My personal favorite is his portrayal of Rooster in the 1999 made for television movie, ANNIE which will lead us into his theatre career. And let's be honest, isn't that why we're all here?

Ah, the theatre! Right out of the gate, Cumming was nominated for Best Newcomer Olivier Award for CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH POLE in 1988. However, it was his role in the 1993 revival of CABARET that garnered him attention. As the emcee, previously portrayed by the sweet-faced, rosy cheeked Joel Grey, Cumming's portrayal was very dark and highly sexual and gained him the Olivier Award for Best Actor. Five years later, when the rendition came to Broadway, he won the Tony along with Co-Star, Natasha Richardson. He went on to appear in BENT, THE THREEPENNY OPERA, MACBETH and revived his role as the emcee for the closing of the 2014 Broadway revival.

Cumming's award resume would take up an entire page in itself. He has been nominated for such awards as Olivier, British Comedy, Shakespeare Globe, MTV Movie (I know, right?), Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Theatre World, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, Drama League, GLAAD... I could seriously keep going. He has claimed victories in many of these categories including the Tony Award, but the Emmy has eluded him thus far. However, regardless of his countless award-worthy performances, I think we can all agree that we hope he doesn't stray from his musical roots for too long. Nobody can pull off suspenders and Doc Martens while singing showtunes quite like him.

Here are a few clips of Cumming's work. The first his Emmy nominated performance in THE GOOD WIFE, the next as the Master of Ceremonies from the 1998 Tony Awards. And lastly, my personal favorites: First, as Sandy Frink in a dramatic dance sequence for the climax of ROMY & MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. And second as Rooster in 1999's TV adaption of ANNIE performing (let's face it) the best song, Easy Street with Kathy Bates and Kristin Chenoweth, still, my favorite performance and interpretation of this number to date.

Will you be cheering on Alan Cumming during Sunday's Emmy telecast? Stick with BWW TV all week for in-depth Emmy coverage, features, predictions, and results. Let me know your thoughts on Alan Cumming's nomination and the Emmys in general in the comments below, or on Twitter @eponineq and #BWWEmmys.

The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, September 20th (8 PM ET/5 PM PT) on FOX from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Make BroadwayWorld your home for live coverage at BWW TV and on Twitter@BWWTVWorld.

Photo Credit: Roundabout Theatre and CBS

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!