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ALAN CUMMING Julianna Margulies, Alan Cumming and Melissa George in The Good Wife
➙ To his fans on either side of the Atlantic (he lives in New York and Edinburgh), Cumming has recently become best known for his role as ruthless politico Eli Gold on hit TV show The Good Wife, shown here on More4. But this former RSAMD graduate began his career at local theatres like the Citz and the Lyceum, before cracking the West End as Master of Ceremonies in Sam Mendes’ 1993 production of Cabaret and springboarding into a role in 1995 i lm Circle of Friends.
There’s little of this career detail in Not My Father’s Son, which switches between past tales of Cumming’s childhood in 1970s Perthshire and his life in 2010, when he began i lming an episode of the BBC’s genealogical history programme, Who Do You Think You Are?. Hinging on his father’s disturbingly violent treatment of his sons, it’s deeply emotional stuff yet completely surreal in places. The book opens with his father forcibly cropping young Alan’s hair with a pair of rusty clippers, pressed against a workbench in a shed. In the next chapter, Cumming is shufl ing on stage at a Cinema Against AIDS gala at Cannes, alongside Patti Smith and Marion Cotillard, just as an unlikely duet between a bemused Smith and Mary J Blige is being auctioned off. Peppered with l ashbacks to his past – usually violence at the hands of his father, but occasionally heartfelt encounters with his much-beloved mother – the thrust of Cumming’s memoir takes place in 2010. Just as he is about to begin investigating his maternal grandfather’s history with the BBC team, he receives some shocking family news delivered in a panic by his brother the night before i lming begins.
Viewers who’ve seen Cumming’s Who Do You Think You Are? episode may remember its bewildering conclusion, and that particular journey is described in engaging detail in Not My Father’s Son. But the book’s focus is the other mystery that was simultaneously unfolding in Cumming’s life, away from the cameras: one that involved confrontations with his estranged father (who passed away from cancer shortly after), DNA tests and fraught soul-searching.
‘There were times I just thought “why is this happening to me and what the fuck is going on?”’ he says. ‘You know, it was overwhelming. And that’s partly why I wrote the book. I want to go “look, look at this, people, this fucking crazy shit happened to me”.’ By doing that, you’re giving it weight, you’re giving it its import. I want to give weight to what happened to me in my childhood, and also what happened to me that summer [in 2010]. It was big and I want to mark it.’
And so far, the critical and public response has been exceptional. ‘It’s been amazing, actually, very overwhelming,’ he admits. ‘I’ve done some readings where people have come up to me and said they were very moved and talked about their similar situations. So, it’s been quite an overwhelming time for me, I have to say.’ Although he’s written before (his debut novel Tommy’s Tale came out in 2002), Not My Father’s Son shows Cumming to be a particularly skilled storyteller. His personal drama is spun out in a thrillingly mysterious way, and it’s even won plaudits from lauded thriller writer Harlan Coben. His acting career might i ll his time just now (in addition to The Good Wife, he’s revived his iconic Cabaret role on Broadway this year) but he says he hopes to write more in the future.
So might we soon see him join the ranks of Scotland’s world-renowned crime novelists? ‘I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes,’ he chuckles. ‘Actually, I gave it to Ian Rankin to read and he said “gosh, it’s like a thriller” and started joking about stuff. I mean, I do love a thriller. But I think this is a certain example of truth being stranger than i ction, so that was kind of in my favour.’
He may not be joining the Tartan Noir set just yet but in this deeply touching memoir, Cumming has certainly marked himself out as one of our bravest and most perceptive writers, and an unexpected literary talent.
Not My Father’s Son is out now published by Canongate.
22 THE LIST 13 Nov–11 Dec 2014