Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish film and stage actor, perhaps best known for his supporting roles as Boris Grishenko in the James Bond film GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United and on the stage with his Tony Award-winning lead performance as the Emcee in the highly successful revival of Cabaret. He has directed, produced, and written films, TV series and plays, voiced several soundtracks, written a book, developed a stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and formed his own production company
Cumming was born in Aberfeldy, Scotland, the son of Mary, an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming, a forester. He has one older brother, Tom. Cumming attended Monikie Primary School and Carnoustie High School and originally aspired to a career in veterinary medicine; but a personality clash with his biology teacher put him off the idea and he subsequently set his sights on becoming an actor. Following graduation, he spent a year and a half employed as an editor for the Scottish pop magazine TOPS before entering the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Developing his talents off-camera, Cumming co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced, and co-starred in the ensemble film The Anniversary Party with friend and former Cabaret co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh, in 2001. The two starred in the movie as a Hollywood couple.
Cumming plays a psychotic ex-amusement park employee in David Munro's upcoming Full Grown Men, which will be shown in theaters throughout the U.S. in summer 2008.
In 2008, Cumming will provide the voice of Adolf Hitler in the film Jackboots on Whitehall.
