- 4 weeks ago
Emmy-nominated actor and host Alan Cumming sat down with THR's Tyler Coates and shared plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets — about Peacock's smash hit reality competition series 'The Traitors' at the THR Frontrunners live event hosted by the San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I have quite good poker face, I think, because I'm playing a character.
00:03As Alan, I don't really have a very good poker face.
00:05But there was two times during the course of this when, in my ear, they said,
00:10Alan, your face, your face, your face.
00:13And I was like, oh, what?
00:14Because apparently, like, from where I stand at the back, you know, by the circle of truth,
00:18I can see certain people what they're writing on their little chalkboards.
00:21And there was one time when I just thought, for sure, they're going to realise who was the...
00:26It was clear.
00:27And I saw this person writing a different name, and apparently I went...
00:34And so I got into trouble.
00:46So this is your fifth Emmy nomination, which is incredible, right?
00:52Always a bridesmaid.
00:53Yeah.
00:53We've talked about this, you know, when I've interviewed you before about this, you know,
00:58three of those nominations, your previous nominations, were for The Good Wife, playing
01:03Eli Gold, which is a great character.
01:05And then you also got a nomination for hosting the Tonys with Kristen Chenoweth.
01:09Yeah.
01:10So I feel like this...
01:12I mean, that's still pretty impressive.
01:14I also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for being an Arthur.
01:17Oh.
01:18The aardvark.
01:18Okay.
01:19Yeah.
01:19But then, but let's let that go.
01:21Yeah.
01:21Yeah.
01:21That's fine.
01:22And I have one in New York Emmy.
01:24Oh.
01:24Yeah.
01:25For doing something else.
01:26Okay.
01:26Well, primetime.
01:27Yes.
01:28It's where it's at.
01:29Yeah, exactly.
01:30But, you know, I feel like this job, this role that you have as a host of The Traitors
01:35really encapsulates all of that hosting, but also you're really playing a character.
01:40I feel like you're putting on a character as Ellen Cumming in a way.
01:44Oh, absolutely.
01:45Yeah.
01:45I mean, I feel like it's sort of a huge acting job.
01:48I mean, I know it's a hosting a show, but I am acting a character, you know, and even
01:53it's funny, I went, I'm doing a film in Scotland right now and well, not right now, clearly
01:58I'm here, but I am in the middle of it.
02:00And I went to meet, went for my costume fitting the other day and in the same way that on The
02:04Traitors, when I put my costume, whatever I'm wearing each day really dictates the sort
02:09of mood of what I'm going to do.
02:12I mean, literally, actually.
02:13And I really rely on, I realise how much I rely on costume people to sort of tell me
02:19what my character is.
02:20And that's why Sam Spector is such a genius on this show.
02:22But that, that's how I think about it.
02:24I think about it as a character.
02:26And obviously it's me.
02:28His name's Alan Cumming, but obviously it's not really me.
02:31I don't, I don't really sound like that.
02:32I don't, um, dress like that.
02:36And I don't have a castle.
02:38Alas.
02:39That's too bad.
02:40But I really, it's, I mean, I think it's actually great that, you know, the notion of
02:45hosting something, and you are hosting something, but you're making it more, I love that this
02:50is so theatrical and camp and the true sense of camp, that kind of arch and sort of knowing
02:56and kind of celebrating, um, flamboyance in a way.
03:01I think that's a really, uh, exciting thing about the show.
03:05Not just me, but the whole sort of, uh, uh, sensibility of it.
03:08I really like that.
03:09Yeah.
03:10Well, I think this episode in particular really shows that off, not just with you, but with
03:14the entire cast of contestants.
03:16I mean, I think it's the looks that they pulled out.
03:19Oh my God.
03:19I mean, were you ever worried like, uh-oh, someone of the, I might be upstaged.
03:23Back off, bitch.
03:24Yeah.
03:24A little bit.
03:26I mean, I sort of, I mean, I think it was quite, it's quite interesting that as it went
03:30on, people, I mean, now I think people, if you were going to be on the traitors, you'd
03:34think, oh, I better, the person who is on the ground with me, helping me get my clothes
03:40on, um, Catherine, she said that what happens now is that more and more and more, nearly all
03:46of them have stylists who've, like, done looks for them before the thing, uh, not all of
03:53them, clearly, but, uh, and what was funny, do you want to know some juicy gossip?
04:00It's not that juicy, but, uh, um, the, um, bags of, um, Tom from the restaurant show.
04:08Sandoval.
04:08Yes.
04:09Were lost, right, when he first came.
04:12So, the first few days of filming, he looked fabulous because he was being dressed, he was
04:19being styled by the, the, the styling people who are, you know, sort of overseeing it.
04:24And, um, then, then his, his clothes arrived and, and what was, um, hilarious is someone
04:31said to me, there was a, there was a, a, a meme that someone tagged me in and it was a
04:36picture of me from, um, Josie and the Pussycats on the phone and it said, Alan, come on,
04:42coming furious at Tom Sandoval wearing another Zara women's suit to the castle.
04:49And I said, I don't, I don't understand this.
04:52I don't understand this meme.
04:53And, um, Catherine said, oh my God, tomorrow he is wearing another Zara women's suit.
04:59Because I didn't realise that's the thing he does, he wears Zara women's suits, which
05:03I'm all for, don't get me wrong.
05:04But I thought it was interesting because his style changed remarkably when his real clothes
05:08arrived.
05:08Not in a bad way.
05:11Right, sure.
05:12Just expression.
05:13Yeah.
05:13Um, yeah, that's, that's something, how, how familiar are you with the contestants when,
05:19when they're kind of like being cast and, and joining the show?
05:22I mean, when, when do you find out who they are and, and what is your process of, of figuring
05:27out who they are?
05:28Well, I find out quite late, cause it is always quite late.
05:32There's always rumoured people and they do this thing where they sort of say someone's
05:36maybe going to do it, but they're not really.
05:38And so it's, it's, it's sort of, it's a, you know, it's a different world.
05:42So there's a different, it's like when you know, if you've ever known models, they have
05:46like, um, they have like two or three things that they might do all at once.
05:50I can't remember what you call it, like a pencil or something like that.
05:52And so they've always got, I'm penciled for this and penciled for that and penciled for
05:55that.
05:55And, um, I once went out with a model and I find it so confusing and it's a bit like
05:59that with these reality competition shows.
06:03But anyway, eventually when, when it's the actual group, it's only really shortly before
06:07we start filming.
06:08And I often, I mean, you know, I, I don't really know who a lot of them are, but I really
06:13study very hard.
06:14I go and I do this sort of crash course.
06:16I get these research notes and things like that and they're photos.
06:20And my one, my one thing I insist now is that the photos that I have are as near to the time.
06:31So I don't get confused by the fact they might have had some alterations to their faces.
06:37Because that happened in the first season.
06:39I was like, what the fuck?
06:40We went to do the film, the first, went to film the first bit.
06:43I went, these, she doesn't, this is the wrong person.
06:46And they went, no, it's, it isn't Luke.
06:47I went, oh, so yes, I asked, please could, could you try and get the photo taken of them?
06:53Like when they arrive in Inverness, not a couple of weeks ago.
06:56I expected you to maybe name check Larsa with that one too, who, if you watch Miami and,
07:03you know, they do flashbacks of seven years ago, it does truly feel like a different person.
07:06A lot of, yeah, a lot in that case.
07:08And, you know, I just think, fair enough, but like, you know, it's hard enough anyway.
07:14Could you make it a little, I just, that's my thing.
07:16I said, please can have the photographs that are the nearest to the, to when they were last seen alive.
07:22Like yesterday when they got off the plane.
07:23Because there's a lot of, initially it's a lot of people to remember and a lot of them look alike.
07:31You know what I mean?
07:32I mean, it sounds a bit sort of, I don't know, but it's true.
07:37Quite a lot, you know, there's a lot of blonde, there's a lot of, you know, it's a lot of work.
07:43Yeah.
07:43And, for me, and so I, but I do study very hard and I, and I have to sort of learn certain, you know, they're famous things.
07:52And some of, some of them I know, some of them come through, you know, even if you don't watch those shows, you, they have entered the zeitgeist in some way.
08:00But I, I do, really do SWOT, do you have that in America, SWOT, like study very hard on them and kind of, you know, it's important for me to sort of, especially in those first meetings that I do with them, the first interviews I do that I'm sort of au fait with their shtick.
08:18Right. Well, season two is very different from season one where it was a mixture of, of kind of reality television stars with some kind of regular people who just happened to be on the show.
08:28Was this one, you know, having an entire cast of people who are public figures in some way, a little bit easier for you?
08:36Yes, in a way, because, you know, when they're public figures, you know something about them.
08:40They've got, they shtick, you know, they come with a story, a backstory, whereas with the real people, they didn't.
08:47And so it's kind of, you just, and also some of them are pretending.
08:50Remember that, that someone was pretending to be something.
08:53And so you think, oh, God.
08:55So I actually liked it better.
08:57And also I think that it's a very heightened show, you know, it's very sort of, has a theatrical sort of feel to it, both in the setting and the sort of gothicness and me.
09:08And so actually it's, I liked it better when people came into that environment, understanding that and sort of coming at that sort of level.
09:16And when they're, you know, they come to this, they understand that and they know, they know television, they know how to work, they know how it works.
09:24So they kind of, they're not, I mean, they're not sort of showing off, but they understand, you know, it's like doing, being photographed.
09:31You know how to give it.
09:33Right.
09:34And I would say like, it's been, especially this season, it was really impressive to see who really leaned in hard on the game.
09:42I mean, Phaedra is like a queen.
09:45If they gave Emmys out for reality contestants, she should get it.
09:49She should.
09:49Because she truly, I mean, she was chewing the scenery along with everyone else in such an incredible way.
09:56I mean, I think going above and beyond most of the contestants, really.
09:59Oh, she was on fire.
10:01I mean, I find her completely fascinating because she gave such, she was like a meme machine.
10:09You know, she was kind of, you know, everything she said was practically a quotable thing.
10:14But, and also she was so, like there's a bit when I, when they come in the cloaks and I said, do you promise to be a murderer and everything?
10:22And most of them go, I do.
10:23She went, I will kill every night.
10:26Like she would, she was like so in it and so kind of turned way up.
10:31And, but then what I thought was fascinating about her was actually as a, as a traitor, she was incredibly passive.
10:37She never said, let's do this.
10:39She was always like, mm-hmm.
10:42Yes, interesting idea.
10:43Oh, do you think so?
10:45Well, yes, maybe.
10:46So she was, I find that she was very on the back foot and that was actually quite a good tactic for, for, for a while.
10:53Well, in this episode in particular, there was a really interesting kind of, you know, kind of factions forming between like the Bravo, like the lifestyle reality shows versus the gamers as they refer to themselves.
11:06I mean, I think of, I mean, I'm a huge Housewives fan.
11:08I love Phaedra from, from Atlanta.
11:11Yes.
11:11And she was always that kind of, anytime she manipulated, it was always like a very passive, like she kind of got someone else to do it for her.
11:18What do you mean in the Atlanta show?
11:20In Atlanta, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:21I mean, there was, she, she did some, there's some traitoring happening there.
11:24But that's her modus operandi, I think.
11:27Yeah.
11:27Yeah.
11:27And it was fascinating to watch it.
11:28Like, I was like, come on, you know, because she was so passive, she kind of got, like, people were like, well, what are you doing?
11:35Right.
11:35You know, when she came up against, like, like, poverty or something.
11:38Right.
11:38And she was, who was very, what's the word, not aggressive, but, like, affirmative.
11:44Strategic, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:46It's interesting as well, the whole sort of, in the one we just shot a wee while ago, that's coming out next year, there's, there's, again, there's this sort of, because there's more housewives in that one.
11:57Four now, I think, or five, or four.
11:59And, um, and they were very, they had a bit of a persecution complex.
12:04They were always going, like, why are you always, why are you always gunning for the housewives?
12:08And, because they'd made this little pack.
12:11And, um, I think it's interesting, they sort of go into these little packs, and so then if one of them's attacked, they kind of rally around, like, it's an attack on them, too.
12:18It's very, sort of, feudal, and it's very, like, the show, a lot of the show, I feel it's like Lord of the Flies, you know, it's kind of, everyone gets into the little packs, and then it becomes Kill the Pig, and nobody actually really.
12:29Has any rationale about it.
12:31It's, it's fascinating.
12:32I mean, it's, from a sociological point of view, I find it endlessly fascinating.
12:36I mean, it's kind of like a psychological experiment.
12:38Absolutely.
12:39I mean, I feel like a lot of them, I mean, are kind of opening up to the camera about how confused and, and, and chaotic everything feels.
12:47And they're absolutely maddened by it, because they're not allowed to have their phones, and they're kept in isolation, and so all they think about is, is the traitors.
12:55And, and so, as do I, you know, but at least I kind of get to go home and talk to other people, and use my phone, and things like that.
13:06Was there anyone that you got really close to, like, just, that you were rooting for, even as a traitor or a faithful?
13:13I mean, is it, is it hard not to get attached to a contestant?
13:17Well, um, no, it's not that hard, actually, because I'm sort of playing this character who's not, I mean, there's some, obviously, there's some people that I think I have a, more of a natural empathy towards than others.
13:33Or it's just, you know, because they're nicer people, or, you know, or, someone get that.
13:40That's probably Phaedra, furious.
13:43She's heard what you said.
13:45But, uh, no, I kind of feel, and also I am very removed from them.
13:50I don't chat to them between takes.
13:53I stay sort of in character.
13:55I mean, I, sometimes, like, I, in the mornings, I, in that, in that season, I would sometimes, you know, arrive at the castle, and they'd be waiting to do something, and I would, my dog, Lala, would run, and I would sort of speak to them, or they would want to talk to Lala, and I, I sort of decided not to do that in this third one.
14:10I kind of, I come in the back way, and I just avoid that possible interaction, because I think it's really important that I have that, um, level of sort of, and then to be slightly scary to them, you know what I mean?
14:21To, like, to be sort of, uh, like, castle daddy, as, um, Phaedra called me, and to be sort of stern, and to be sort of, you know, not, so anyway, the bits, that, that's nice when I saw, like, Max, you know, I went afterwards.
14:34It's so nice to be, sort of, break character and go, oh, he did really well, and, you know, which I would never say to anyone in the thing, so I try and stay completely in character.
14:42Of course, I, I mean, in this season that's about to come out, there was some brutal, oh, my God, brutal things happened.
14:49I was just horrified by certain people, but you've got, I mean, it's not my job to show that.
14:55I think it's just sort of important that I allow all that to happen and kind of just, um, take a little puppeteer, you know?
15:03Well, I think, you know, I, I will say for myself, I watch reality shows because I like the conflict.
15:09It's fun to watch people.
15:10All drama is conflict.
15:11Exactly.
15:12Exactly.
15:13But, like, what is it like being in the room, especially when things get very heated?
15:18I mean, are you, like, do you step back?
15:21Are you, like, this is, this is uncomfortable?
15:23Well, it's sort of interesting.
15:24I have a thing in my ear, you know, and they're talking to me from the control room, and sometimes I feel like, sometimes I'm, I mean, I have a little perch that I sit on in the, in the, um, during the brown tables.
15:35And I sort of say, you know, should I say something, should I, because I'm trying not to be loud, so they're here, but I know that they're, and sometimes they're freaking out.
15:43I can, if they don't reply, I know they're freaking out.
15:46And sometimes I have to say, you know, stop talking at once and do, do, do, and, you know, some decorum here.
15:50And so there's certain rules I can have and there's certain things I say just to sort of keep the focus and keep it clear for us watching.
15:58But sometimes I feel like, oh, my God, is there going to be a fight?
16:02Like, I really do, you know, that energy you feel in a room when certain things are happening?
16:07And I felt that a couple of times, in this last season especially, actually.
16:10I thought it was going to get really ugly.
16:13And it gets very, you know, people get very emotional and it's, I have to sort of, it's really difficult because I would be, I'm, my natural thing is to be, people are like, oh, you know, you're all right.
16:25But I'm not allowed to do that.
16:28And also this last time actually, there was two times when, I have quite good poker face, I think, because I'm playing a character.
16:38As Alan, I don't really have a very good poker face.
16:40But I, there was two times during the course of this when in my ear they said, Alan, your face, your face, your face.
16:47And I was like, oh, what?
16:48Because apparently, like, from where I stand at the back, you know, by the circle of truth, I can see certain people, what they're writing on their little chalkboards.
16:56And there was one time when I just thought for sure they're going to realize who was the, it was clear.
17:03And, and they, and I saw this person writing a different name and apparently I went.
17:08And so they, I got into trouble.
17:16And then another time when someone was put out, and this has happened a couple of times, when people who I know are traitors react, act to, you know, someone going out.
17:27And it's, I am like in awe and horrified by the balls of their reaction and sometimes by the overacting that's involved.
17:40I think, sure, that's my department.
17:42But this, you know, I was just like gobsmacked by, by, by some of the things that happened.
17:48People, you know, getting really emotional.
17:50And it's, it's, when, and, and that's what I think makes the show great when you know, we all know who it is.
17:55So when you see that level of commitment and overacting, it's, it's fun, but also galling, you know, that people are, are able to do that.
18:06Yeah. I mean, it's, I mean, yeah. I mean, have you been truly impressed with like the acting skills?
18:11Yeah. Yes. And like how, I mean, it's that, that thing when people say, oh, if, you know, if that was in a film, it would, it's too much.
18:19If it was in, you know, no, sorry, if that was in real life, it would be too much.
18:22No one would believe it.
18:23Right. And actually, in a certain situation, you know, in a certain situation, if the stakes are high and the circumstances are such, you can do anything.
18:32There's a saying in Scotland I always sort of adhere to about acting, which is you can be as big as you like, as long as you mean it.
18:39And that's what these people certainly buy into as well. I mean, it's, it's, but when you know it's a lie and you see it, you're in the room beside it as well, and it's unedited, it's not been, you know, whatever.
18:52Or it's, sometimes you have to do that, you know.
18:57Well, it's, yeah, because they're also constantly accusing each other of overacting and acting.
19:03Yes.
19:03So it's a really, I imagine it's a really kind of wild mind trip to kind of be omniscient in a way, in a godlike way, to know all the secrets that's happening.
19:12It is. It's so exciting. I love it so much. I love knowing everything and I love kind of, you know, having that sort of knowledge. It's not the power necessarily, it's the knowledge.
19:24And, and also it's incredibly scary that you could easily give it away. You know, that's the thing you could have to ad lib with them and things like that.
19:32And that's another thing that's new to me about the whole, this is the sort of ad libbing and people are saying, suggesting things in my ear.
19:38You know, and sometimes I'm like, that's a terrible idea. And then saying, don't see, don't see this, don't see that, you know.
19:44So that is really scary. But I actually really enjoy, I really enjoy that sort of, the nervousness of it, the sort of tension of it.
19:53It's like the theatre. And the most scary part of all is when, when we have to, on the day when I pick them, you know, I tap them.
19:59That is terrifying because, first of all, there's so many of them and they're all squashed around the table.
20:06And, like, Phaedra had, like, shoulder pads for days. I thought, is she even going to feel it when I touch her?
20:13And, and, and I was worried at my, you know, I wouldn't get my hand in because they were sort of, you know, between each other.
20:19That, and I could sort of fuck up the whole thing right then. And that's the scary, and you feel the tent, you can hear the tension in the control room.
20:26And you can feel the tension in the room. It's just, it's, it's, I get slightly agitated even thinking about it.
20:32Yeah. I mean, are they, are they telling you who to pick? Are you, are you playing a role in that?
20:37Oh, yes. I know who I do. I know who it is already. We've discussed it.
20:41But are you, are you, like, playing, like, oh, I kind of like that one. Like, are you throwing in your names?
20:45Yes. Well, we, you know, when the people come and I talk to them about who they are and find it and research them, we have a little chat.
20:50And then it's actually, there's a, it's called the gold chats. We call it like when there's all the gold in front of them.
20:55And I sit by the fire with Lara and we, and I interview them. And so that's very, I mean, it's quite a condensed short part in the show, but it's very revelatory for us because it's the first time we've, I've had any interaction with most of them.
21:09And so we, we find out, you know, we get a good sense of who they are and what they're like. And after that, the final decision's made, which is only like an hour and a half before I tap them.
21:19So it's very, you know, condensed and exciting.
21:22Stakes are high.
21:23Big time.
21:24Yeah. Do you have anyone that you were actually sad to see go, either killed or banished at the round table?
21:31I was very, very, I was very sad that Peppermint went so soon. I mean, I thought she was, she's such a darling and such a lovely person.
21:38And also the reason she came into that show was, I mean, she got a chance to talk about it in the reunion, but it was a lot to do that she, as a trans woman, wanted to be a trans woman in a mainstream way and to be seen and for visibility.
21:53And it was sort of, it was sad that she didn't get the chance to do that.
21:59And, and also I thought it wasn't a great look for the show that the first person that goes is a trans woman of color.
22:04And so I was sad about that. Yeah. Yeah.
22:08Last question before we wrap up.
22:10Um, do you have, um, do you have like a dream contestant, like someone that you'd love to see on the show, either as a faithful or a traitor?
22:17I mean, I do, but I don't think they'd ever do it.
22:21That's fine.
22:21But I would love, I like imagining.
22:23I would love Martha Stewart to do it.
22:25I just think she'd be so good because she's so capable and so bossy.
22:29But would she be a good trader?
22:31Would she be faithful?
22:32She could do anything.
22:33She can do anything.
22:34Yeah.
22:34And she would like do all this.
22:35I mean, she would like jump out of a helicopter.
22:37She would, you know, eat, eat weird bugs.
22:41Uh, I just think she's, to me, she's, she's the kind of person, she's a sort of known from a certain, in a certain way.
22:47But she's constantly, like, I love all the stuff she does with Snoop.
22:50I just saw Snoop in, um, at the Olympics and everything.
22:52I just think it's so hilarious, the pair of them having this other life.
22:57And I think, yes, she is, it would be good to me.
23:01But, but, um, I don't know.
23:02I'm always really fast.
23:04It's exciting to me because a lot of the people, I don't know who they are when we first start.
23:09And then I, you know, then it's actually great because it's not really about your baggage.
23:14What's really interesting about this game is it doesn't matter if you're a gamer or a strategist or do-do.
23:20What I've realized over the three that we've done already is that all those things,
23:23and I think the contestants are slowly realizing that, that it's, it's a, it's a thing of itself.
23:29And certainly some skills are useful and, but actually you could go like that and it has no logic about your strategy or anything.
23:36And that it's, that's the great thing about this game.
23:39It's so sort of on a knife edge all the time.
23:42And, uh, and I, so, yeah, I, I, I really enjoy people being confounded by who does well in it.
23:49Like in, um, in this one, it was pilot Pete who kind of sorted it, kind of worked it all out.
23:55And he's, you know, he's not a, he's a sort of like a cutie pie bachelor.
24:00And so I think it's great.
24:01He confounded the notion that you have to be on survival or blah, blah, or the challenge or something.
24:06So that's what I, I really enjoy, uh, continuing to confound people.
24:12I'm confounded and I'm confounding as well.
24:16So here's to that.
24:18Well, congratulations again on not just this nomination for the show, but as a host.
24:23Very excited for season three.
24:25Thank you again for joining me.
24:26Thanks everybody.
24:27Thanks everybody.
24:30Bye.
Be the first to comment