Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Alan Cumming on his memoir, acting
by Terri-Lynne Waldron
2014-10-09

This article shared 5136 times since Thu Oct 9, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Bisexual Scottish actor Alan Cumming has been celebrated for his work in such films as Any Day Now, garnered a Tony Award in Broadway's Cabaret and currently appears on TV in The Good Wife.

In his memoir, Not My Father's Son, Cumming details his tragic childhood growing up in a household filled with abuse at the hands of his late father. Cumming talked with Windy City Times about reliving the past, going through therapy and forgiveness.

Windy City Times: How long did it take to write the book and was it difficult to relive the physical, verbal and emotional brutalities that you endured?

Alan Cumming: It took me a couple of years on and off and there were a few times I had to focus properly on it. It was difficult to relive the stuff but I had a good editor who encouraged me to go darker. I thought that was important.

WCT: Was there ever a time when you became suicidal?

Alan Cumming: It was definitely difficult because of the constant barrage of my father, but I wasn't a suicidal child.

WCT: What is the meaning behind the title of the book, Not My Father's Son?

Alan Cumming: I am saying that I am not like him and I am not that kind of man.

WCT: Was your father aware that you are bisexual, and did he ever make negative comments about it?

Alan Cumming: He was definitely aware, but by that point he wasn't in my life. Some of the newspapers wrongly accused him of saying negative things, but he did not say any derogatory things. My orientation was not an issue.

WCT: Your mother Mary and brother Tom—also a victim of your father—were your support system growing up. How did they feel about the book?

Alan Cumming: They were very much a part of the whole story so I let them read it before I gave it to the publisher. They have both been incredibly supportive.

WCT: Can you read the book as if it was written by someone else?

Alan Cumming: I have been so immersed in it for so long, so that would be kind of weird.

WCT: Can you actually separate yourself from it?

Alan Cumming: Not really. I haven't done it yet but I want to go into a book shop and actually see it.

WCT: In the book you mentioned that you had been in therapy. Are you still in therapy today?

Alan Cumming: I am.

WCT: Was writing the book also therapeutic for you?

Alan Cumming: It was. It has been a long process and I've learned a lot about myself doing it. It has been therapeutic for me, my mom and my brother. We had a story with our dad that we were ashamed of and it's good to have it be out in the world and say that this is what happened and this is how far we've come.

WCT: Did the events in your past have a direct effect on you wanting to become an actor?

Alan Cumming: Acting was a form of survival techniques I had to employ to work around my father's rage. I don't think that's why I became an actor, but I definitely had traces of some acting skills.

WCT: Is there anyone in your family who influenced you wanting to become an actor?

Alan Cumming: No. My becoming an actor has nothing to do with anyone in my family. I have no kind of role models in that way at all.

WCT: You forgave your father in the end. Was it difficult to do that?

Alan Cumming: It wasn't difficult. What can you do? I'm a very pleasant chap and I don't hold onto things from the past. I don't think that he was mentally stable and the things he did to me was not about me, it was about him and his illness.

WCT: The Good Wife recently made its return this fall. How are things going on the set of the show?

Alan Cumming: We've been back filming for a while now and we're actually filming episode nine.

WCT: What can fans expect from your appearance at the Music Box Theatre on Oct. 13?

Alan Cumming: I'm being interviewed about the book and I'll be doing some reading from it. I will enjoy it because it's nice to meet people and show them a different side of you. The book is obviously intense and there is a lot of darkness there, but as a person I am quite affable and I like to have a lot of fun. It will be a whole gamut of emotions.

Alan Cumming will be at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., on Monday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. Visit www.musicboxtheatre.com . To find out where to buy Not My Father's Son, visit www.alancumming.com/ .


This article shared 5136 times since Thu Oct 9, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16
Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


Gay News

Leather Archives & Museum announces 2024 Fetish Film Forum 2024-01-27
--From a press release - CHICAGO, Illinois—After a wildly successful inaugural year, including a 10-film series at the Leather Archives & Museum and a 5-film series at FACETS, the Leather Archives & Museum is thrilled to announce the continuation of Fetish ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Sundance items, Green Day, 'Wednesday,' Queerties, 'The Wiz' 2024-01-26
- At the Sundance Film Festival, Jodie Foster told Variety that the $1.4-billion success of Barbie helps confirm that Hollywood no longer views women directors as too much of a risk. She said, "With a big success ...


Gay News

WORLD Arrest in Brazil, athlete dies, Ghana attack, World Economic Forum 2024-01-26
- A 30-year-old man was arrested in Brazil on Jan. 18 for his alleged role in the stabbing murder of prominent NYC art dealer Brent Sikkema, Gay City News reported. Authorities took Cuban resident Alejandro Triana Trevez ...


Gay News

OSCARS Gladstone, Domingo receive nominations 2024-01-23
- LGBTQ+ actors Lily Gladstone and Colman Domingo were among those receiving Oscar nominations when they were announced Jan. 23. Gladstone received a Best Actress nod for her role in the Martin Scorsese-directed Killers of the Flower ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.