Q&A with ‘The Traitors’ Host Alan Cumming by THR Frontrunners

In a recent event at the San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles, Emmy-nominated actor and host Alan Cumming shared insights into Peacock’s successful reality competition series The Traitors. The event was part of the THR Frontrunners series.

“I feel like it’s a huge acting job,” said Cumming about his role in The Traitors, for which he received his fifth Emmy nomination. He explained that although he plays a character named Alan Cumming, it significantly differs from his true self. “Obviously it’s me — his name’s Alan Cumming — but obviously it’s not really me. I don’t really sound like that. I don’t dress like that. I don’t have a castle. Alas, that’s too bad.”

The Traitors is an American adaptation of a Dutch series inspired by classic party games like Mafia. The show gathers a mix of reality TV stars from programs such as The Challenge, Love Island, Survivor, The Bachelor, and Real Housewives. Contestants engage in physical challenges to accumulate prize money exceeding $200,000. Hidden among them are three traitors who “murder” one of the faithful contestants each night. The faithful contestants must identify the traitors and banish them during each episode’s roundtable discussions, which often involve heated debates.

Cumming mentioned that he is not a fan of reality TV, so he usually is unfamiliar with the contestants before filming begins. “I don’t really know who a lot of them are, but I really study very hard,” he said, describing the “crash course” he takes to understand the players’ backgrounds before the season starts. “It’s important for me, especially in the first interviews that I do with them, that I’m sort of all fair with their shtick.”

Given the contestants’ diverse reality TV backgrounds, drama is inevitable, and alliances often form based on the shows they represent. In the second season, factions emerged among the gamers (from The Challenge, Survivor, Big Brother) and stars from Bravo’s Real Housewives.

“They were always going, why are you always gunning for the Housewives?” Cumming recollected. “I think it’s interesting that the different types of reality stars go into these little packs. If one of them is attacked, they kind of rally around like it’s an attack on them too. It’s sort of feudal, and it’s very like the show.” He added, “A lot of the show, I feel it’s like Lord of the Flies. Everyone gets into the little packs, and then it becomes ‘kill the pig!’ Nobody actually really has any rationale about it. I mean, from a sociological point of view, I find it endlessly fascinating.”

Reality TV fans can expect intense arguments during the show’s roundtable discussions, often culminating in a faithful contestant being banished. Cumming revealed that one of his greatest challenges is maintaining a neutral expression while knowing who the traitors are.

“Sometimes I feel like, Oh, my God, is there going to be a fight? I felt that a couple of times in this [upcoming third] season — I thought it was going to get really ugly,” he said, hinting at the drama in the new season set to premiere on Peacock in January. The producers often have to remind him through an earpiece to stay composed and not give anything away.

“When people I know are traitors react to [a faithful being eliminated], I’m in awe and horrified by their reaction, sometimes by the overreacting that’s involved — that’s my department!” Cumming noted. “That’s what I think makes the show great. We all know who [the traitors are]. So when you see that level of commitment and overacting, it’s fun — but also galling, you know, that people are able to do that.”

This edition of THR Frontrunners is brought to you by Peacock.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter