Alan Cumming spiced up his life by appearing in The world of spices 1997. And she has Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell to thank for landing the role.
“The reason they asked me to be in their movie was because when Geri was in college, her class came to see me play Hamlet just a few days after her father died. And, of course, Hamlet is a character whose father had just died and he was in grief about it,” Cumming, 59, tells PEOPLE of his role in the 1993 English Touring Theater production.
“She really connected with me because of my Hamlet. And that’s why they asked me to be in The Spice Girls movie.”
As a result, jokes the Scottish star, “I’ve always wanted to make a ‘Ginger Spice saw my Hamlet’ T-shirt.’ ”
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Cumming remembers The world of spices set “be awesome”.
“I learned the Spice Girls dance moves from the Spice Girls between the two parts,” he continues. “I remember I had this coach in the Spice Girls and I just loved them and their spirit. We laughed all summer. I had a really good time and made some really good friends.”
Alan Cumming and Geri Halliwell.
Columbia / Everett
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The Traitors the presenter remained on friendly terms with Halliwell, 51, and her bandmates, including Posh Spice Victoria Beckham, Baby Spice Emma Bunton, Scary Spice Melanie Brown and Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm.
“I run into them a lot and it’s always so nice,” Cumming says. “I see Geri a lot.”
The four-time Emmy nominee considers himself lucky to have worked with the Spice Girls on what he believes “was the pinnacle of their time”.
“It was like they were really delicious, ripe fruit,” he says. “And not long after that they rotted a little. So I kind of caught them at the peak.”
Cumming invites the suggestion that he use his connection with the Spice Girls to hire one of them Traitors season 3 “good idea.”
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The Spice Girls at the 1998 Brit Awards.
Dave Hogan/Getty
But he doesn’t want people sliding into his DMs trying to get into the Peacock competition show.
“There are real channels to go through with these things,” says the four-time Emmy nominee. “When people try to contact me via DM, I kind of think, ‘I don’t have to answer you because these aren’t the right channels.’ I see, I’m the host of the show. I stopped looking on my Instagram because there were so many random people. And I think, ‘That’s not my job.'”
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The actor loves that his career includes such a series of projects.
“I’ve moved back and forth between all kinds of media and genres throughout my career. And I think one of the things I enjoy the most is that kind of eclecticism and the fact that every time you come to something new, you come to it fresh and excited because you’ve been doing something else for a while,” he explains. “Each thing helps me become more interested in the other.”
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After Traitors ends March 7, Cumming will star in a solo play Alan Cumming does not act his age.
“If I had a gun to my head and I had to choose one [genre], I think I would choose live performance because the connection you make with the audience is so immediate and kind of primal,” says the Tony winner. “I have a small band and I do these concerts all over the world. I love doing it. I found a life I never thought I could.”
New episodes Traitors drop Thursdays at 9pm ET on Peacock.
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