Alan Cumming Interview, Tin Man

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Sci Fi press upfronts in New York, and while there, we were treated to news of Sci Fi’s upcoming mini-series, "Tin Man." Star Alan Cumming played Nightcrawler in "X-Men 2" and played in the Broadway musical "Caberet," and he was kind enough to take a small chunk of his time to sit down and chat with me about his role in this reinvention of the classic that became a literally colorful story and milestone for its cinematic time.

Jerrica: Tell me about "Tin Man."

Alan Cumming: Well, it’s loosely based on the story of "The Wizard of Oz," and a lot of the elements of that stirred up, the key ingredients of it, reimagining of sorts take on another world.

J: And that part that you play is?

AC: I’m called Glitch. He’s the scarecrow character, and he’s had half his brain removed by the baddies, and we find out why later. Zooey [Deschanel] plays this guy called DG. And we have the O.Z., which is the Outer Zone. And I’m trying to get my brain back, because they’ve taken half of it away.

J: That sounds wonderful. How did you get attached to the project?

AC: My agent sent it to me. People ask me to do things and I just go ‘Oh, let’s do this’ without thinking. I don’t have any kind of plan. If something connects, I like it, it connects, it all seems like fun, I’ll do it. I always have liked "The Wizard of Oz" and actually I’ve always kind of fantasized about it. I mean, I kind of like fantasy and fantastical things.

J: Like "X-Men"?

AC: Like "X-Men." And I like "Spy Kids" and a lot of these films, "Son of the Mask", they’re all kind of heightened sort of fairytales. Sci-fi is just like fairytales but modern. So I just responded to [Tin Man] on that level. And, it’s three two-hour films. It’s a ton of work. It’s a lot of time.

J: How long did you spend on the set?

AC: None. It starts tomorrow. We haven’t started yet. We will literally be going until we leave tomorrow morning. We start shooting next week.

J: How long is the schedule going to be?

AC: It’s three months. It’s a lot!

J: And it premieres when?

AC: December. So it’s a quick turnaround. I would hate to be directing it. Glad I’m just acting.

J: What’s your favorite part of acting? You do so many different roles, so diversified and so interesting, and you always master them all. It’s amazing.

AC: Thank you. My favorite part of acting... I suppose it would be just... to lose yourself in another person. I think acting’s like... really, it’s like being a child. You know when children play, they say, "Oh look, here’s my dinosaur" and they believe it’s a dinosaur, and so you believe it’s a dinosaur, and I think that’s the same thing as being an actor. I go to work, and I’m pretending that I’ve got half my brain, and I’m walking down this road.

J: And that’s a wonderful living for you.

AC: It’s fun, yeah. It’s great, it’s a great thing. I love it. I like, you know, affecting people. But actually just in terms of I enjoy playing it, it’s great to be able to just go to play at work.

J: And what drew you to "Tin Man" was the fantastical element of it?

AC: I really thought it was clever, an updating and a reimagining of "The Wizard of Oz" but without it being too slavish. It’s still it’s own thing.

J: Were you a fan of the original?

AC: "The Wizard of Oz"? Yeah, big time. I watched that again this weekend actually.

J: Oh, that’s wonderful. Preparing for your part. Is your Scarecrow going to be very much like the original Scarecrow? How much does it take from it?

AC: That’s actually a lot... It’s what I like about it. Every now and then, there’s a reference, kind of a fleeting homage, like "Is it that way? Is it that way? Or is it that way?" [moves his arms back and forth pointing like the character in the original] I do that kind of thing that Scarecrow does... The thing about the Tin Man character, the reason he doesn’t have a heart is because his heart’s been broken because his family’s been taken away from him. My brain, I don’t have a brain, because I was the advisor to the wicked queen and when I wouldn’t work, do her bidding anymore, she took half my brain. I like the way that it kind of cleverly melds in the original ideas but makes it its own story too. You know, quite like a ripping yarn.

J: Did they approach you or did you audition?

AC: They just asked me.

J: I’m not at all surprised. You’re amazing in everything that you do. Last question; where are you filming "Tin Man"?

AC: In Vancouver in British Columbia.

Cumming is even more of a sweet guy than you might guess. And, he seemed very at ease and was more than happy to give his time to MoviesOnline for this interview, and we’re really looking forward to seeing him in "Tin Man" this winter.