Alan Cumming calls X-Men sequel X2 the ‘gayest’ film that he’s ever made: ‘It’s an allegory about queerness’

Alan Cumming has stated that the 2003 X-Men film X2 is “the gayest movie I’ve ever made.”

The Scottish actor and television personality continued by adding, “And I say that” during the call to promote his reality competition series The Traitors.

“It’s got a queer director in it and a lot of queer actors in it,” he said, making his case Entertainment Wweekly. “I think it’s great that something so mainstream and so strange in the comics world.”

He further explained, “I think these types of films really help people understand queerness in a way because you can tackle it in an artistic way and everyone is less afraid of the concept.”

“It’s an allegory about queerness, about people who have amazing gifts and really amazing, powerful things that they have to hide in order to exist,” Cumming, 59, added. “Queer people understand what that’s about.”

In the film, Cumming plays Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, a bright blue mutant with the ability to instantly teleport himself and others from one location to another.

Bryan Singer directed the superhero film, a sequel to X-Men (2000), which was written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter working from a story by Singer, Hayter and Zak Penn.

Much of the star-studded cast from the first film returned to reprise their roles, including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Bruce Davison and Anna Paquin.

Cumming was among the newcomers joined by Brian Cox, Aaron Stanford and Kelly Hu.

X2 was released on April 24, 2003 in London, England and again on May 2 in the US, receiving positive reviews for the storyline, action scenes and performances.

While the first , with $407. 7 million with a budget of between $110 and 125 million.

Cumming came out publicly about his sexuality, calling himself bisexual in 1998, aged 33, after appearing in the films Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) and Spice World (1997).

Cumming, who played Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, a bright blue mutant with the ability to instantly teleport himself and others from one location to another, in the X-Men sequel

“I think in a way these kinds of films really help people understand queerness because you can tackle it in an artistic way, and everyone is less afraid of the concept,” he said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“It’s an allegory about strangeness, about people who have amazing gifts and really amazing, powerful things that they have to hide in order to exist,” Cumming added. ‘Queer people understand what that’s about’

“I decided to talk about my sexuality because there was so much speculation and there was no way to talk about it unless you made a big statement and came out,” he said. People.

He continued, “I had to find a publication that I felt would talk about my sexuality and the nuance of it in a way where I felt like I could control the narrative and it wouldn’t be sensationalized. One of the good things about social media – there are a lot of negative things – is that you can actually get your message across. That didn’t exist before.’

Cumming made his television debut in ITV Granada’s Traveling Man (1984), and subsequently appeared in several Scottish television series before his breakthrough role on TV was as Bernard Bottle in the 1991 BBC comedy Bernard and the Genie (1991).

His feature film debut came in Ian Sellar’s Prague (1992), which won him the Best Actor award at the Atlantic Film Festival and a Scottish BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.

The actor has since starred in films such as Circle of Friends (1995), GoldenEye (1995), Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion, Spice World, Eyes Wide Shut (1989), The Anniversary Party (2001), Josie and the Pussycats, Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), Garfield: The Movie (2004), The Tempest (2010) and Battle of the Sexes (2017) , among other things.

Cumming spoke out while promoting The Traitors

He is also best known to some fans for his television roles in The Good Wife (2010-2016), Instinct (2018-2019) and Schmigadoon! (2021-2023).

The native of Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, who became a dual citizen when he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States in November 2008, was the host of the American version of the reality series The Traitors (2023–present), which was renewed last February for a third season.

He took to his Instagram page on Sunday to express his gratitude for the four Critics Choice Real TV Award wins.

‘Wow!!! Thank you so much @ccrealtv for this flood of prizes this weekend. And I want to thank everyone who voted for me for the Male Star of the Year award! I want to be called MSOTY from now on!’