James Bond saved Alan Cumming’s life.
In a candid interview with “CBS Mornings”, the “Good Wife” star opened up about his new memoir Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life, and shared how landing a role in “Goldeneye” rescued him from suicidal thoughts.
READ MORE: Alan Cumming Recalls Telling ‘Harry Potter’ Producers To ‘F**k Off’ Over Gilderoy Lockhart Role
Actor @AlanCumming shares some of his personal and career highs and lows in his new memoir, “Baggage: Tales From a Fully Packed Life” — and how his mantra, “Cancel, continue,” has helped him work through trauma. pic.twitter.com/W4k03dlgmc
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 26, 2021
“It was one of the worst days of my life actually,” he said, remembering his audition for the 1995 film. “I felt really, really, really low. I just now think, ‘Oh you poor little thing, you could’ve said I am feeling suicidal today.’”
Everything changed, though, after he got the call that he had won the role of Boris Grishenko.
“That’s something I realized when I was writing, like, oh my God, Hollywood saved me,” Cumming said. “I have this sort of mantra, which is ‘Cancel, continue.’ When something bad happens I think, okay that happened, we can’t change that, let’s move on.”
In the interview, Cumming also talks about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.
“When I was 28, I suddenly remembered all this stuff from my childhood,” he said. “It’s still with me, I still get triggered by things. And we all have baggage, we all have trauma.”
The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Depression Hurts and Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 all offer ways of getting help if you, or someone you know, may be suffering from mental health issues.
