Alan Cumming on "The Traitors" and His Brush with Reality Television

Alan Cumming, introduced by Emily Nussbaum at the New Yorker Festival, embodies a multifaceted showbiz persona, blending mainstream success and indie creativity. Known for roles in 'The Good Wife' and the musical 'Cabaret,' he also hosts the Emmy-winning 'The Traitors.' Nussbaum describes him as a disco ball of show business, reflecting diverse aspects of the industry. Cumming's initial skepticism towards reality TV transformed through his experience on 'The Traitors,' where he grapples with themes of behavior and kindness inherent to the genre, having previously confronted family secrets in 'Who Do You Think You Are?'

When Emily Nussbaum introduced Alan Cumming at the New Yorker Festival, she said, "Plenty of actors light up a room, but Alan Cumming is more of a disco ball-reflecting every possible angle of show business."

Cumming combines 'a dandy Scottish laird-sort of James Bond villain, sort of eccentric, old-fashioned nut who has this big castle.' Spoiler alert: 'It's supposed to be my castle. It's not.'

Read at The New Yorker