Alan Cumming opens up about childhood trauma and says it helped him become an actor

Alan Cumming says his late father’s bullying helped him pick up “good qualities” for becoming an actor.

The Scot, who has starred in Emma and GoldenEye, tells BBC Radio 4 ’s Desert Island Discs, which is on at 11am today, how he and his brother Tom suffered emotionally and physically growing up on the Panmure Estate in Angus, where his dad Alex was head forester.

Cumming, 57, told host Lauren Laverne: “My dad didn’t break my spirit. I feel the qualities you need to deal with an adult who is abusing you, and you are powerless, are good qualities for being an actor. Listening, pretending you’re not feeling what you are feeling, not showing fear.”