Alan Cumming says he ‘won’t be too mean’ when presenting Bafta Film Awards

Actor and The Traitors US presenter Alan Cumming has said he “won’t be too mean” when he hosts the 2026 Bafta Film Awards.

The 61-year-old, who is known for playing Nightcrawler in the Avengers film series, will host the ceremony at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London later this month.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony, he said: “I’m pretty excited but also daunted – it’s like I’m going to be in a play, but I don’t know the script yet.

“I have done things like this before, although I guess the film awards will be more international.

“I know I’ve got to strike that balance between celebration and mischief, but I won’t be too satirical or mean because we’re there to celebrate people’s achievements.

“I can get away with more than most people would because I’m mischievous and a bit cute, so that lets me be a little more biting or provocative without scaring people away.”

Chloe Zhao-directed film Hamnet is in the running for the most awards with 11 nominations, breaking the Bafta record for a female-directed film.

Scottish-born Cumming, who hosted last year’s Bafta Television Awards, said Disney animation Dumbo was the first film he could remember having an impact on him.

He said: “I remember the shock of thinking the elephant’s mother was going to die, I couldn’t believe you could kill her.

“I’ve always been interested in things that make you gasp – I’m not interested in just nice things. I always want a film to make you think differently about the world.”

Cumming said Passing Glory, the first film he worked on, taught him how to tell a story without using words, as well as an early lesson that he would need to get used to his face being scrutinised.

The Spy Kids star added: “I remember watching it at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1986, and in one scene it felt like my nose entered the frame a good 20 seconds before the rest of my face, it was like an iceberg or a ship coming in.

“I remember just being so horrified and realising that if I wanted to be in films, my face would be scrutinised.

“It was a really great lesson, but a lesser man would have run for the hills and become a plumber.

“Being an actor means I see images of myself from 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago every day, so you have to get used to aging and how you look, I’m at peace with it now.”

The Baftas will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday February 22.