How Alan Cumming Built His ‘The Traitors’ Host Character by Acting

On this version of THR Frontrunners, Emmy-nominated actor and host Alan Cumming opened up — and shared loads of behind-the-scenes secrets and techniques — about Peacock’s smash hit actuality competitors sequence The Traitors at a stay occasion hosted by the San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles. 

“I really feel prefer it’s an enormous performing job,” says Cumming, who scored his fifth Emmy nomination for The Traitors, which additionally earned a nod for finest actuality competitors sequence along with actuality competitors host. “I give it some thought as a personality. Clearly it’s me — his identify’s Alan Cumming — however clearly it’s not likely me. I don’t actually sound like that. I don’t costume like that. I don’t have a citadel. Alas, that’s too dangerous.”

The Traitors (an Americanized model of a Dutch sequence, which is impressed by basic occasion video games like Mafia) brings collectively a solid of actuality TV stars from sequence like The Problem, Love Island, Survivor, The Bachelor and Actual Housewives to play a recreation of treachery and homicide — and compete for a money prize of greater than $200,000. Every episode sees the gamers competing in bodily challenges so as to add cash to the prize pot. However hidden amongst them are three traitors, who every night time “homicide” one of many “faithfuls” — eliminating a participant from the operating. It’s as much as the faithfuls to determine who the traitors are and banish them at every episode’s roundtable, wherein tensions flare up when accusations of double-crossing are lobbied between gamers (and people accusations are sometimes incorrect, as seen when faithfuls banish certainly one of their very own to the traitors’ delight).

Cumming admits he’s not a fan of actuality TV, so he typically is unfamiliar with the contestants earlier than the present begins filming. “I don’t actually know who loads of them are, however I actually examine very exhausting,” he says of the “crash course” into the gamers’ biographies simply earlier than capturing a season. “It’s vital for me,  particularly within the first interviews that I do with them, that I’m type of all honest with their shtick.”

Contemplating the place the contestants come from, there’s loads of drama on the present — and factions kind shortly based mostly on the truth reveals the gamers symbolize. For instance, the second season noticed cliques kind between the avid gamers (from The Problem, Survivor, Large Brother, and many others.) and the Bravo stars (Season 2 featured alumni from Actual Housewives of Orange County, Miami and Atlanta). 

“They have been all the time going, why are you all the time gunning for the Housewives?” recollects Cumming. “I believe it’s fascinating that the several types of actuality stars go into these little packs. If certainly one of them is attacked, they sort of rally round prefer it’s an assault on them too. It’s type of feudal, and it’s very just like the present.” After all, that sort of infighting all the time makes for good tv — however for The Traitors, it’s merely a part of the sport. “A whole lot of the present, I really feel it’s like Lord of the Flies,” provides Cumming. “Everybody will get into the little packs, after which it turns into ‘kill the pig!’ No one really actually has any rationale about it. I imply, from a sociological viewpoint, I discover it endlessly fascinating.”

Any fan of actuality TV can count on some knock-down, drag-out arguments between solid members — which definitely occurs through the tense roundtable discussions that, most of the time, finish with a trustworthy banished from the sport. For Cumming, sustaining a poker face whereas realizing precisely who’s mendacity to their friends is the largest problem.

“Generally I really feel like, Oh, my God, is there going to be a struggle? I felt that a few occasions on this [upcoming third] season — I assumed it was going to get actually ugly,” says Cumming, teasing the upcoming season that lands on Peacock in January. And it’s in these moments that the producers, speaking with the host via an earpiece, must intervene and remind Cumming to not react and provides all of it away.

“When individuals I do know are traitors react to [a faithful being eliminated], I’m in awe and horrified by their response, generally by the overreacting that’s concerned — that’s my division!” says Cumming. “That’s what I believe makes the present nice. Everyone knows who [the traitors are]. So whenever you see that degree of dedication and overacting, it’s, it’s enjoyable — but additionally galling, you realize, that individuals are ready to try this.”

This version of THR Frontrunners is delivered to you by Peacock.