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Alan Cumming

Tony Award winner Alan Cumming has had an eclectic career that has included many outstanding performances in theater, feature films, stand-up comedy and writing and directing for film and television. His unforgettable portrayal of the Emcee in the Broadway musical of Cabaret was one of the most celebrated performances of recent years. In addition to a Tony Award, his performance also won him the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theater World and the New York Public Advocate's Awards. For the original London production Cumming received an Olivier Award nomination.

Cumming's upcoming films include the following: Showtime's Reefer Madness, a tongue-in-cheek musical comedy adaptation of the 1936 classic anti-marijuana propaganda film; Ant Bully, an animated feature from Warner Bros.; and the independent films, Neverwas, opposite Aaron Eckhart and Ian McKellan, and Eighteen. Cumming will next segue into production on the independent films Bam Bam and Celeste.

Cumming recently starred as ‘Nightcrawler' in the worldwide smash hit X2: X-Men United. He also reprised his role as ‘Floop' in the third installment of the highly successful Spy Kids franchise. Other credits include Julie Taymor's Titus; Eyes Wide Shut opposite Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman; Plunkett and Macleane; The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas; Nicholas Nickleby; Company Man; Josie and the Pussycats; Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion; Investigating Sex; Buddy; Emma opposite Gwyneth Paltrow; Goldeneye; Circle of Friends; Black Beauty; Second Best; Get Carter; Urbania for director John Matthew and Prague, for which he received Best Actor Honors at the Atlantic Film Festival.

Cumming also co-produced, co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the National Board of Review honored film, The Anniversary Party, with Jennifer Jason Leigh. The ensemble cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Kline and John C. Reilly.

On television Cumming has guest-starred on Frasier, Third Rock from the Sun and Sex and The City as well as hosting Saturday Night Live. He also starred as the sinister ‘Rooster' in the ABC-TV musical production of Annie, a telefilm that received record ratings and 11 Emmy nominations , and in the TNT re-make of the classic romantic comedy, The Goodbye Girl.

In theatre, Cumming made his West End debut in 1988 at the Royal Court in The Conquest of the South Pole and was nominated Most Promising Newcomer in that year's Olivier Awards. He went on to win an Olivier Award for Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the Royal National Theatre in 1991 and was nominated again the following year for his performance in La Bete at the Lyric Hammersmith. In total, Cumming has been nominated for a record four Olivier Awards. In 1993 Cumming won rave reviews for his performance as Hamlet in London's Donmar Warehouse production, as well as a TMA Best Actor Award and a Shakespeare Globe Award nomination.

In addition to his acting work, Cumming is also a published author. His first novel, Tommy's Tale, was published by Harpers Collins in America and Penguin in the UK.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2005.
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Alan Cumming Facts

OccupationActor
BirthdayJanuary 27, 1965 (58)
SignAquarius
BirthplacePerthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Height5' 8" (1m73)  How tall is Alan Cumming compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Emma
Pride & Prejudice
The Smurfs
The New Yorker Presents
The Smurfs 2
Goldeneye
Burlesque
Strange Magic
The Smurfs: The Legend Of Smurfy Hollow
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