In some ways — though this sounds silly at first — Alan Cumming’s hardest acting job to date is on “The Traitors.” Even though he plays up his natural Scottish brogue for the “role,” his in-universe “name” is still Alan Cumming … though it should be noted, the castle that he claims is “his” that serves as the set for the series is definitely not his. So how does Cumming approach it all?
“I feel like it’s a huge acting job,” Cumming told The Hollywood Reporter during a roundtable discussion in August of 2024, shortly before he won those two Emmys. “I think about it as a character. Obviously it’s me — his name’s Alan Cumming — but obviously it’s not really me. I don’t really sound like that. I don’t dress like that. I don’t have a castle. Alas, that’s too bad.”
Beyond that, though, Cumming — a proud queer man whose New York venue Club Cumming regularly hosts queer artists and provides a safe haven for the community — thinks that the popularity of “The Traitors” is good for LGBTQ+ representation in troubled times. In March 2025, Cumming was quite blunt with Buzzfeed about his views. As he put it:
“‘The Traitors’ is such a queer show. There’s me at the center of it, being super queer with all my crazy outfits. Two of the winners this year are queer people, and that’s so lovely. I really did push to have a better representation in the show, and that’s certainly worked.”
By “two of the winners,” Cumming is referring to former “Bachelor” contestant Gabby Windey — who recently wed her girlfriend-turned-wife Robby Hoffman — and Lord Ivar Mountbatten, one of the first openly queer members of the British royal family, who shared the prize pot with Dylan Efron and “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Dolores Catania. Cumming, for his part, remains hopeful about the possible impact of “The Traitors.” “With all these draconian, horrific things, laws, and attitudes against the queer and trans community in America right now, I think it’s a really positive thing to see so many queer people and, hopefully, trans people in a show that also celebrates dressing up, androgyny, femme-ness, and queerness,” Cumming went on. “Hopefully we challenge people: If you like all that and you love this show, maybe you shouldn’t vote for a party that is trying to demean and destroy those people’s lives.”
Well said, sir. “The Traitors,” which is excellent, is streaming on Peacock now.
