He’s played a mutant in X-Men 2, and featured in series such as The Good Wife, and now Alan Cumming will be making his return in the series, Instinct. Scheduled to premiere on AXN this August, Instinct tells the story of Dr. Dylan Reinhart, a former CIA operative who’s created a quieter life for himself as a professor and author of a best-selling book on abnormal behaviour.
When tenacious and resourceful NYPD detective Lizzie Needham (Bojana Novakovic) approaches him to help her solve a serial killer case, he taps into his old skill set and reaches out to a CIA friend who has access to invaluable top-secret intelligence. As Dylan gets lured back into the adrenaline filled world of law enforcement, he and Lizzie realize that, together, they make the perfect team.
In this exclusive interview, Cumming reveals more about the series and the character of Dr. Dylan Reinhart.
What is the premise of Instinct?
This show is about a man who is a professor of behavioural studies, who is a former CIA agent, who gave it all up and decided to go into academia. He is lured back into the field by an NYPD cop because a serial killer’s using his book as a clue.
Why was Dr. Dylan Reinhart a character you wanted to play?
It’s a fascinating part, actually, when you think about it. You don’t get many, you know, I’ve never played a professor who is a former CIA agent having a midlife crisis…going back into the field with the NYPD. It’s kind of like, you know, it’s once-in-a-lifetime.
Where do we find Dylan at the start of the series?
It’s got a central character who is in a sort of state of flux. Someone who is, you know, kind of having not a midlife crisis, but who’s kind of just started thinking, oh, I wonder if my glory days are slightly on the wane and he is feeling a little old and a little kind of past it. And all of a sudden, his life is turned upside down by a series of circumstances and he is back into, you know, living at level eleven.
How does Dylan balance the many facets of his life?
It’s actually a really great thing to have so many different layers, because also if you imagine if you’re a CIA operative undercover and you have to have the ability to be so many different people and to be able to compartmentalize your life. So, I think it’s actually – initially I was like, wow, it’s so sort of disjointed all these different facets, but actually it makes complete sense for someone who has spent his life kind of compartmentalizing the various traits that he has.
What is it like working with guest star Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Joan Ross in Season 1?
I’ve known Whoopi [Goldberg], actually, you know, round and about for a few years – many years actually. And I’ve always had such fun with her and always really liked that and love just hanging out with her. And it’s just great – I love when you do something like this that you actually get to really, really know people well. And especially someone you knew a little bit, you have a chance to really get – form a bond with them. And so, that’s been really great and she is hilarious. I mean, everything she does just cracks me up.
What is it like to also serve as an Executive Producer on Instinct?
The good thing about being an Executive Producer is that, you know, you get to see the stories and things ahead of time and the scripts and things like that. So, you have an input in that sort of and just you have a cognizance of the way it’s going and kind of feel you’re involved in that. And it’s not just you get the script and what’s happening now.
Catch Alan Cumming on Instinct as it premieres 6 August, Monday at 10pm (9pm JKT/BKK) exclusively on AXN.
