Book Talk: Alan Cumming believes in putting everything out there

[October 31, 2014] By Jim Finkle

BOSTON (Reuters) - Scottish actor Alan Cumming has won accolades for his performances, including current stints as a manipulative Chicago political operative on TV's “The Good Wife” and a revival of his Tony-winning role in the Broadway musical “Cabaret.”

In his memoir, “Not My Father’s Son,” he describes his painful childhood growing up on a country estate on the east coast of Scotland where his abusive father was the head forester.

Cumming also tells the story of one of the most turbulent periods of his life: The summer of 2010 when his decision to appear on a popular UK celebrity genealogy program led him to discover a secret about his birth.

Cumming, 49, spoke with Reuters about the book and his writing future.

Q: Some of the experiences you describe are so painful. Why share them?

A: I’m about to turn 50 and I felt like I just wanted to put everything out there. My whole credo about how to deal with being in the public eye has always been to be honest and open. And with this huge amount of information that people didn’t know about me, I just wanted to put it out there.
 

Q: Why be so open with the public about your personal life?

A: I’ve had various horrible engagements with the press where I’ve tried to not talk about certain things. In a way you invite speculation, I think. That’s when people can get really nasty and your life can be really affected in an adverse way.

Q: Much of the book focuses on what happened to you after your father told you that you were not his son when you were doing the British TV show “Who Do You Think You Are” in the summer of 2010. Do you regret doing that show?

A: At one point I regretted it, when I discovered my grandfather had died playing Russian roulette. The first thing I thought was, ‘I’m going to have to tell my mother this. I wish I have never started this journey.’

Ultimately it was a very inspiring and beautiful thing to do. The lessons I learned from it brought my mom and brother and I closer together.

Q: You describe some pretty intense bullying episodes in the book. Was it painful to write about?

A: Obviously it’s a painful memory. There are painful memories I share in the book. It was difficult to read the audio book of it. But it’s definitely a cathartic thing.

Writing this book you stand back from yourself and learn lessons. I think one of the biggest lessons I learned is that I have overcome a thing that could obviously have been quite debilitating to my life. I think that’s a really good message to put out to people who could perhaps be in a similar situation - where it seems the problems you are facing are insurmountable and you are never going to be your own person and be happy. It’s possible to be happy. That was the most positive thing about writing it.

Q: You seem to have a wonderful sense of humor. Where did that come from?

A: I am a happy person. Being Scottish I think we have a good sense of humor. Humor is a big part of how we communicate.

All my life I have been able to joke about things. When you think the worst things that could happen to you in your life have already happened, it kind of grounds you and gives you a better perspective on things: what to take serious and what not to take serious.

Q: Are you working on any other books?

A: There is one in my future that I’ve got to finish. It’s a book of photographs I’ve taken and also the stories behind them.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Nick Zieminski)

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