The Good Wife's Alan Cumming on his acting journey ahead of Listowel Writer's Week
Q: You broke through in the Scottish sitcom The High Life, 23 years ago. It has been quite a journey from there; did you think you would achieve such success as an actor, singer and writer?
A: Absolutely not. My ambition when I was a drama student was to work at the Citizens’ Theatre in Glasgow — I still haven’t! I thought maybe one day I might move down to London, but really, the thought of America, of Hollywood and Broadway, was never even remotely on my radar.
So, to be living the life I have now, to be travelling all over the world and working in the mediums I do, including doing a concert tour of Australia, is just insane. I love it and savour every single moment.
Q: Your performances in Cabaret were legendary [Cumming has played the role of the Emcee twice on Broadway, in 1998 and in 2014]. What was it like to play such an iconic role?
A: By the time it was finished, I was totally shagged. It was a very demanding role physically and emotionally but also I was shooting The Good Wife at the same time so I was really burning many candles at all ends.
When I first did it on Broadway in 1998, I was so green and overwhelmed by what was happening. Sixteen years later, I was more secure and understood things better. It was great to experience it all in a more true, if utterly exhausting, way.
Q: Eli Gold in The Good Wife was such a memorable television character —what was it like working on the show?
A: I had fun! He was a great character and brilliantly written. It was a revelation because I had never played a grown-up in a suit before.
So, I kind of grew up in it. Also, I was able to live at home in New York and to work on a great show that wasn’t too onerous in terms of time commitment. It was pretty sweet.
Q: The character of your daughter Marissa has a role in The Good Wife spin-off, The Good Fight — any chance you might make an appearance?
A: There was talk of it but now my new show for CBS, Instinct, has been picked up, so it probably won’t happen. But never say never.
Q: How do you approach your writing — do you need to find a separate space from acting physically and mentally?
A: Initially, I need to get away and have some real concentrated down-time to focus and work out what I want to say. After that, I am pretty good with writing on the go. I have a room in my house that I go to and I am able to just cut the rest of the world off.
But with my life, I need to be able to act in a scene then, if I have some time off, nip back to my dressing room and bang off a few paragraphs.
Q: Your memoir Not My Father’s Son [in which Cumming wrote about the violence he suffered at the hands of his father] was very well received. How hard was it to write about such painful memories?
A: It wasn’t really hard. I just had to tell the story. Writing the book was such a good way to process it all.
Obviously going back to my childhood and relating some of the abuse was upsetting but there was some comfort in doing it because I was looking back at it through the eyes of someone who had survived, a sort of witness.
Q: What inspired your new book You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams?
A: I felt I owed my readers something a little lighter. Also, I had been working on this book for a long time, from before Not My Father’s Son. I just wanted to present literal snapshots of my life, from my point of view as an outsider. Because I feel I am an outsider even to my own life.
Q: You have spoken about your devastation over Scotland voting no to independence. Do you think Brexit has changed the political landscape there?
A: Absolutely. Many people made the decision to vote no because they were told an independent Scotland would not be allowed in the EU.
Now a unified Scotland cannot be in the EU! Also, the Brexit vote was another example of Scotland being forced to do something against its will by Westminster. But there is some referendum exhaustion in Scotland right now.
People need time to breathe and see the lay of the land. I think the next referendum on independence won’t happen till 2019. In fact, I have it on good authority from the first minister herself.
Q: It has been two years since Ireland voted for marriage equality. Are you concerned about the political circumstances for LGBTQ people elsewhere, especially in the US, where you live?
A: Trump is terrifying. If he needed to throw the LGBT community under the bus to curry favour with some right wing crazies, he would.
None of the strides we have made are guaranteed to last when we have a mentally ill narcissist running the country. He condones hate crimes by his silence, and there has been a massive spike in violence against LGBT people since he took office. We need to be vigilant and to resist.
Q: Tell us about what you’ll be doing in Listowel:
A: I will be chatting about my new book and my whole body of work, as well as catching up with old friends and making some new ones. And I will be having fun with my dog Lala.
Q: What are you reading at the moment?
A: Men In Eden by William Benemann. It’s about a Scottish nobleman who went to the Rockies, joined the fur trail and had a life of bacchanalia. A bit like my life, minus the shooting.
Listowel Writers’ Week: Other highlights
- Mike McCormack, award-winning author of Solar Bones, and Jess Kidd, winner of the 2016 Costa Short Story of the Year Award, will read and discuss their work at Listowel Arms Ballroom. Thursday, 1pm, €15.
- Colm Tóibín, right, is president of Writers Week, and has been getting warm reviews for his latest novel, House of Names. Listowel Arms Hotel, Thursday, 3.30pm.
- Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford will discuss his latest book, Between Them, an intimate portrait of his parents’ life, at The Plaza Centre. Thursday, 8.30pm, €15.
- The Michael Hartnett Poetry Memorial Reading. Held in honour of the late Limerick poet, this year’s reading will feature Thomas McCarthy, Kerrie O’Brien and Richard Skinner reading from their work. The Plaza Centre, Friday, 2pm, €15/€12.
- Sigrid Rausing, publisher of Granta magazine, will discuss her work as an editor and her most recent book, Everything is Wonderful, with poet Victoria Kennefick. St John’s Theatre, Saturday, 5pm, €15/€12.
- Bestselling crime writer Sophie Hannah will discuss her Hercule Poirot novels, one of which is set in Co Cork, at the Listowel Arms Hotel Ballroom on Sunday at 5pm, €15/€12.
