Alan Cumming reveals he was told to lose his Scottish accent when he started out acting

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Acting legend Alan Cumming has revealed while the Americans have always loved his ‘Scottishness’ the London luvvies often told him to ditch the accent.The multi award-winning actor, who has found global fame, says English thespians used to look down on him because his voice, his attitude and his values were too Scottish.Speaking during an appearance at the Wigtown Book Festival with his Victor & Barry sidekick Forbes Masson, Aberfeldy-born Alan, 59, says he was told his accent was a barrier to an acting career.Cumming, who has become a massive star in the States as host of The Traitors US, said: “A Scottish accent was seen as a demerit rather than a good thing.“When I went to live in America for the first time, I realised that all the things that people were celebrating me for were the things that I had been slightly been derided for when I lived in London, my voice, my attitude, my difference, my values.

These were the things that people said ‘oh, we like that’. And I was like, oh gosh, it is pretty good, isn’t it.” Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Alan, who has starred in dozens of movies and TV shows including Circle of Friends and GoldenEye, admits he owes his glittering career to his country of birth.Cumming, who has dual US and British citizenship, said: “I really do feel that Scotland has given me everything.

It’s given me my education. It gave me my start in theatre and subsidised theatre, I got to do all these plays and make mistakes and that was all funded by a government and a country that valued the arts and valued culture.“It’s a huge, huge boon to any artist to live in a country that thinks the arts are worthwhile and not just in