Scots star Alan Cumming on role that made him 'a grown-up actor'

In his new stage show, which comes to Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo this Saturday (January 20), he talks about playing sharp-suited “crisis manager” Eli Gold in legal drama The Good Wife.

The Good Wife cast (Image: The Good Wife)

“I mention the Good Wife, because it’s when I was offered that part that I first felt like a ‘grown-up actor’,” he explains, adding that the new show – Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age – is far from being just a “greatest hits” of his life as an actor.

“I find ways that I can tell stories, where I can please people who want me to mention the things they know me for, but I don’t dwell on those,” he explains.

“I do sing one song from Cabaret - it’s like when you go to a concert and they don’t play the hits, so I try to drop the hits in and mention things in passing…”

He adds: “It’s very much a deep dive into my crazy mind.”

Fans of Alan will undoubtedly remember one of his earliest roles in Glasgow, as one half of Victor and Barry, the well-kent Kelvinside men who shot to the top of the Scottish comedy scene in the 80s.

Victor and Barry, aka Alan and Forbes Masson (Image: Newsquest)

A new book by Alan and Forbes Masson, entitled Victor and Barry's Kelvinside Compendium: A Meander Down Memory Close, will be out in July, marking 40 years since their first outing as the musical duo. The pair are also working on turning their TV sitcom The High Life, about “campy flight attendants” into a musical for the National Theatre of Scotland in 2026.

Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson (Image: Newsquest)

Since his early days in musical comedy, Alan has won both Tony and Olivier awards, has multiple Scottish BAFTAs under his belt, and is the recipient of many Grammy, Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.

He has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such as Bond movie GoldenEye and on stage in Macbeth and Bent, and he is a writer - his latest memoir, Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life, is published by Canongate.

Looking back, Alan thinks his younger self, forging a career in Glasgow, would be surprised by how things turned out.

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“I think he probably wouldn’t believe it,” he says, laughing. “Where I’ve ended up is so far removed from what I thought my trajectory would be.

“Looking backwards, I see how eager and impatient I was. I would tell my younger self, it’s going to be okay. There’s going to be some road bumps, let me tell you…but actually, you don't have to worry.”

Alan adds: “I think there’s such a lot to worry about when you’re a young actor, about are you good enough, sexy enough, whatever. Especially nowadays, I really feel for younger performers because you’ve got to be good at what you do but also worry about how many followers you have.”

Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age is “an old-fashioned cabaret of me singing songs and telling stories, with my lovely band,” he says, adding with a grin: “I wanted to talk about death, sex, younger people, negative things about going to the dermatologist, sagging testicles… stuff like that.”

When Alan takes to the stage in Glasgow, he will be one week away from turning 59.

“That is insane - my next big birthday is 60…I definitely don’t feel 60,” he says.

“I’ve become obsessed about why we have to act our age and what age appropriateness actually is - and who gets to say? The more I thought about it, I realised we’ve made ageing into the worst possible thing that can happen to us. Other cultures don’t do this.

“So it’s a show about what I see as the mostly positive things about getting older, about having wisdom, about having experience with life. And about the limitations we put on ourselves because of how society looks at getting older.”

He pauses.

“If I died tomorrow, I would be very proud of what I’ve done in my life, work and what I’ve stood for,” he says. “I’m a very happy and satisfied person.”