The role that made Alan Cumming feel like “a bit of a whore”
When it was revealed that Alan Cumming would be returning in Avengers: Doomsday, more than a few fans were left scratching their heads as to who in the massive roster of characters he would be reprising, but don’t worry, you will be forgiven for letting him slip your mind.
Cumming appeared as Kurt ‘Nightcrawler’ Wagner in the second X-Men movie, the blue teleporter with a tail and a German accent, who is about as unrecognisable from the tall, pruned Scotsman as mutantly possible.
Once you’re in the superhero ecosystem, it’s impossible to get out, and even though he only appeared in one Marvel movie, Cumming is forever tied to the series and can cash in on those 134 minutes as often as he likes. There are plenty of ways a cunning star can monetise their name being in the credits of a major film, but according to our hero, there’s one line he’ll never cross again.
Speaking on an episode of The Graham Norton Show, Cumming revealed that he doesn’t like doing so-called ‘fan events’, with the star, who is set to host the Bafta film awards in 2026, speaking about how one event in particular led him to swear off the idea for good.
“I did one called ‘Collectomania’, and the emphasis was on ‘mania’,” he recalled, “They paid me lots of money and flew me in, and then guess where it was? A shopping mall in Milton Keynes! There were lots of people, and everyone was very nice, but you had to wait to get paid in cash… I felt like a bit of a whore! When I got back to the hotel, I put all the money all over my chest and made my husband take a photo so I wouldn’t forget what a whore I am!”
A quick search reveals that the event in question took place in 2005, and was actually called ‘Collectormania’; Cumming clearly had such a good time he couldn’t even remember the convention’s name. It took place over the May Day bank holiday weekend in Milton Keynes, if Rebel Scum are to be believed, and alongside Nightcrawler, the four-day extravaganza played host to other names like Sean Astin, James Marsters, Nichelle Nichols, and three actors who had once fronted Doctor Who, wherein the press release promised that the concrete wasteland would be transformed “into the heart of Star Wars fandom”.
These fan events are a vital lifeline for faded stars who struggle to find new work, and as anyone who has paid big money to stand five feet apart from a celebrity and have their picture taken will tell you, they’re a great way to make a lot of money with relative ease.
On a less cynical note, they’re a nice way for fans of a franchise to engage with their favourite actors, but on the other hand, they can come across as a bit soul-crushing. Nothing screams ‘performing monkey’ like sitting behind a desk all day and charging people to speak to you for 30 seconds, which is not what any actor really wants to be doing.
Cumming had a tough time with X-Men in general, so it’s no surprise that he wanted to spend as little time as possible in that world; hopefully, Doomsday can help heal those wounds. At the very least, it should add a couple of zeroes to his convention fee.
