Alan Cumming on Walk of Fame Shock and Marvel Comeback
Alan Cumming opens up about his Walk of Fame honour, the twists in his career, and his surprise return as Nightcrawler in the next Avengers film.
Alan Cumming has described his recent induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame as “actually insane”, finding himself in the company of icons like Robert De Niro, Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, Cate Blanchett, and even Godzilla. The Scottish-born performer, now the host of the American version of the murder-mystery reality show The Traitors, spoke candidly just before the ceremony, reflecting on the unexpected turns his career has taken to reach this point.
“It’s something so out of my expected career path or even my mental periphery. I am so grateful and kind of shocked by it. But it really has made me take stock and realise what an incredible journey I’ve had and how much I was helped by so many people in Hollywood and in America.”
At 60, Cumming invited fellow Scot and Succession star Brian Cox to the event on 8 January, along with close mate Monica Lewinsky, TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney, and his husband Grant Shaffer. He reflected on how his roots and opportunities abroad shaped his path:
“As you get older, you realise that you are a product of everything that’s happened to you: I owe so much to being Scottish in terms of my training and the opportunities I was given, and then coming to America and having this incredible new range of opportunities has allowed me to live in an incredible way that I never thought was possible.”
Back in Blue: Nightcrawler Returns
This December, Cumming is set to reprise his role as the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler in the much-hyped Avengers: Doomsday. His first go as the blue-skinned antihero was in 2003’s X-Men 2, which opened with a memorable scene of Nightcrawler causing chaos in the White House.
He admitted that being cast in Doomsday came as a real surprise, especially since a younger version of the character was played by Kodi Smit-McPhee in later prequels.
“It’s interesting because that was one of the films that was not a great experience at all to make — and ended up being a really great film. I had a miserable time making it. All of us did. It’s not finished yet, but it feels healing to go back to something that wasn’t the greatest experience and enjoy yourself,”
Cumming shared.
“I realised that after X-Men, I stopped doing those kinds of bigger, blockbuster-type films. I purposely went away from that big machine because I didn’t want to be an unhappy cog.”
Star-Studded Cast and a Fresh Start
In Avengers: Doomsday, Cumming will be joined by his X2 co-stars Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden, all stepping back into their superhero roles. The film’s cast list is packed, with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Florence Pugh, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Chris Hemsworth, Channing Tatum, Simu Liu, Paul Rudd, Lewis Pullman, and Sebastian Stan all set to appear, with more names expected to be announced.
For Cumming, returning to a blockbuster set after years away feels like a chance to rewrite old memories and enjoy the ride this time around. The journey from Scottish theatre to Hollywood’s star-studded pavement and back into the Marvel universe has been anything but predictable.