Alan Cumming is still in his PJs at interview go-time. He's filming an indie movie, Drive Back Home, in Canada, before returning to shoot season two of The Traitors in his native Scotland. His form-fitting onesie is one of the few looks that fans haven't seen him wear on the buzzy reality competition series. As the tartaned-up host, he is both an eccentric fashion plate and a stern taskmaster.
Based on a Dutch program that has also spun off British and Australian versions, the Peacock show follows twenty contestants competing in a series of challenges for a $250,000 cash prize. Some players were buried alive in shallow graves; others spun upside-down on a torturous Ferris wheel; the least fortunate had live maggots dropped on them by the bucketful. They endured all this misery while trying not to be "murdered" by a trio of traitors or "banished" by their increasingly paranoid but dwindling peers.
Emmy contributor Frank DeCaro spoke with Cumming about playing ringleader to a mix of reality stars and real people fighting each other to the death ... almost.
What surprised you about the players, other than the fact that almost none of them could spell "Geraldine" correctly when they banished her at that first roundtable?
I don't know why they couldn't spell "Geraldine." But I was amazed at how sort of dopey they were being at certain times and some of the decisions they were making. Quentin Jiles got it wrong every single time and still managed to hang on until the finale. I thought that was hilarious. What amazed me most was the pack mentality. It was very Lord of the Flies, with everyone turning on people. That was fascinating, but I obviously had to have a poker face when I was doing my character.
You are most definitely doing a character. Who is that guy?
He's not me. The producers knew I could host things, but they wanted me to play a character, and I ran with it.
How is he like you?
I have a place in the Catskills, and I love hosting people at my house. But I don't make them do ridiculous things — although there is a zipline and other dangerous things to do near there. The show turns that up to the max and goes a bit macabre with it. As the host, I just thought of all the James Bond villains and Vincent Price. It's a heightened version of those '70s mystery movies that take place in castles where people go missing. I'm an amalgam of all these things. And I love that I get to quote Shakespeare and Plato.
No one could get a bigger laugh out of a line like, "Nothing bad ever happens in a Scottish castle" than you can. Why do you think audiences like a whodunit?
I think the reason why The Traitors is successful and why we like whodunits is that we love to watch people lying. You know who has lied, so it's great to see how good or bad they are at lying, how easy or difficult it is for them. As human beings, we just love to watch people being deceptive because we all lie all the time.
Are you a fan of reality TV?
No ... I always think of those shows as basically rich people being awful to each other. But I had seen some of these reality stars. I knew who Brandi Glanville was; the Real Housewives are in the zeitgeist. And Kate Chastain I knew because I watched quite a few episodes of Below Deck one time in a hotel room when I had a day off. The only other person I knew was Ryan Lochte, the swimmer.
During lockdown, my friend Cynthia Rowley — the fashion designer — her daughter was on The Bachelor. So we did watch that, and it was like crack. My husband and I were completely into it. But I don't want to be addicted to things. What's good about The Traitors is that, with ten episodes, you can watch it in one day if you really have to.
Was working with reality stars any different than working with actors?
I stayed away from them on purpose. When I would come into the breakfast room, I would do my part and then leave. I didn't see them much more than you saw on camera. It was important to maintain my slightly menacing Scottish laird character, so when I would say things like, "You've disappointed me," it would really mean something. I met them more doing press afterwards. I will say this: I've never worked with people who were so completely all over social media. They understand marketing in a way that actors don't.
How does the American version of The Traitors differ from the other versions?
The American version of the show is more camp, because of me. It's camp in that you're loving the fact that things aren't going well for someone. As host, I can wear great costumes and say funny things, but I'm not unkind. I'm not mean to people. I think that's a good combo. I do think it's hilarious that the American version is more camp than the British version. The Traitors is actually very queer with all the subterfuge and people having to hide their identities.
Speaking of those great costumes, how does it feel that your look has been the focus of so many stories about the show, even in The New York Times?
It's nuts, but I'm really happy for Sam Spector, the stylist, because he's so great. Sam came to my house and went through my wardrobe. Who knew I had a ton of tartan suits? You really see the skill of a stylist who can take a base outfit and zhuzh it up in a way that makes it perfect for my character — with berets and sashes and brooches.
Every morning, when I'd come into the breakfast room, they would all go "Ooooooh" and say, "What's he wearing today?" But I had no idea it would cause such a sensation. That's another thing that separates the show from other shows of that kind. It's got a fashion element, a kind of kooky style.
You are a colorful dresser in real life.
When you look at The Traitors and you find out those are mostly my clothes, you think, "My God, Alan Cumming is a bonkers eccentric old dandy." But I'm not. When I go out to posh things and galas and premieres, I do get dressed up. But that's for an occasion. But now, because of the show, I feel a slight pressure to be a fashionista.
What was it like shooting in a Scottish castle?
It was great because everything is so solid. In America, when you're on a set, everything is very ephemeral. But there you could feel all this history. It was cold and drafty, though. The room where I got ready had the most gigantic bathroom. I would sometimes have a bath in the middle of the day whilst they were doing other stuff. I've got a picture of me on the phone in a bubble bath.
After The Traitors you went right into the second season of the AppleTV+ musical series Schmigadoon!
It was such fun, especially because everyone is back, except Fred Armisen. And Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page are in it. The first season was the '40s and '50s and Hollywood musicals; this is the '60s and '70s, and the whole story reflects the change in sensibilities. The first season was shot during lockdown, so we all were there together in a sort of bubble. This time, it was like being at camp with everybody, which made it really magical.
Your character looks like Sweeney Todd.
He's a butcher instead of a barber, but there are bloody things afoot. Kristin Chenoweth is sort of a combination of Mrs. Lovett [from Sweeney Todd] and Miss Hannigan from Annie. We have insane scenes together. It's lovely to go back and do something with a bunch of people you know. I hope we do another one.
Will you be doing another season of The Traitors?
We're shooting it at the end of September, and I'm very excited. The first season was such a great experience, and I found that I became as obsessed with the show as anyone watching it. Every night, before I would go to sleep, I had the producer call me to say who'd been murdered. I couldn't go to sleep until I knew. Now, I just keep thinking, "What will they do next?"
This article originally appeared in emmy magazine issue #6, 2023, under the title, "Off Kilter."
