We love to see Alan Cunming enjoying a higher profile recently thanks to his hosting role of reality competition The Traitors. Of course, before this, he featured in a variety of theater, TV, and movie roles.
Over the weekend, the 59-year-old did a fun interview with Entertainment Weekly in which he reflected on a handful of those roles.
You may have forgotten just how many iconic movies here’s appeared in, including Spice World The Movie, Spy Kids, James Bond hit Goldeneye, and—our personal favorite—Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, to name just a few.
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However, he highlighted a certain comic book blockbuster as the “gayest film” he’d ever done. That was the X-Men sequel, X2: X-Men United, in 2003.
“Oh, I think the X-Men film I’m in is the gayest film that I’ve ever done, and that’s me saying that,” Cumming said.
“It’s got a queer director, lots of queer actors in it. I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer. I think, in a way, those sorts of films really help people understand queerness, because you can address it in an artistic way, and everyone is less scared of the concept.”
He continued, “It’s an allegory about queerness, about people having these great gifts and really great, powerful things that they have to hide to exist. Queer people understand what that’s all about.”
Nightcrawler
Cumming played Nightcrawler in the Bryan Singer-directed movie. In a blog post on his website, Cumming suggested he welcomed the opportunity to take on the role… but it had its drawbacks.
“The character is really interesting, the message of the film (tolerance of others who are different from us) was very timely and unusual for a Hollywood blockbuster, but the real drag was having to spend over four hours a day having two men poke my face.
“Then there were the harnesses for the tail and for flying, the feet, the hands — which made going to the loo a group effort, the teeth, the lenses, oh God don’t get me started.”
Romy and Michele
Asked about Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), Cumming told EW he was looking forward to returning for the long-awaited sequel.
“It was the first film I’d ever made in Hollywood, and it was one of the first things I ever read when I came here to sort of whore myself around,” he recalled.
“It was just so clever and witty. It’s one of these films that some people are obsessed with. There was a screening of it in Atlanta recently, and it was feverish. It was almost culty. It’s great to be a part of something like that, that people are so passionate about.”
He added, “I think what’s great about the [upcoming] sequel to Romy and Michele is just going back to something that is so beloved and having a relationship with these characters. I actually know what the story is, and it’s really good. So I’m excited. I’m excited to go back to it.”
Here’s a reminder of his role in one of the greatest movies from the ’90s.
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He really is a legend
IMO though, his performance in cult classic “Reefer Madness: The Musical” was awesome!!