Everything To Know About 'The Traitors' Host Alan Cumming

Whether you know him from stage or screen, it's impossible to mistake actor Alan Cumming for anyone else. The Tony Award-winning Scot has been delighting audiences since his career began in 1980, and his latest stint as the host of Peacock's competition series "The Traitors" continues that trend.

Set in a beautiful castle in the remote Scottish Highlands and based on the popular Dutch series of the same name, the five-time Emmy-nominated host Cumming will take charge of 20 larger-than-life players (including reality A-listers and America’s best game players) who will complete a series of challenges to earn a cash prize of up to $250,000.

However, it's not that simple. Three of the contestants, the titular "Traitors," will devise a plan to steal the prize from the other contestants, the "Faithful." Over the course of the season, the Traitors will conspire amongst themselves to outmaneuver the Faithful and be the last three standing without being identified. 

The A-listers competing for that mountain of cash will certainly keep each other on their toes — as the cast includes everyone from Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte to Bravo-lebrities such as Brandi Glanville of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and Kate Chastain from "Below Deck" — and Cumming will be adding a certain Scottish flair and drama from week to week. As the only other person in the castle with insight into who the Traitors are, he could either be the Faithfuls' best friend or worst enemy.

While many fans online have mistaken Cummings for Paul Reubens — another beloved character actor who's best known for his work as Pee-wee Herman — since premiere, the two couldn't be more different.

Described by "The New York Times" as a "bawdy countercultural sprite" in 2014, Cumming burst onto the West End with a celebrated rendition of "Hamlet" and has since wracked up an impressive number of iconic roles, including as the Master of Ceremonies in "Cabaret," for which he won a Tony Award in 1998. On the silver screen, "his screen work ranges from art house to blockbuster, cult to mainstream, but his performances are always indelible and some immortal," per his official website. These roles range from Mr. Floop in the "Spy Kids" trilogy to Eli in "The Good Wife," Nightcrawler in "X2: X-Men United," Sebastian in "The High Life," "O" in "Sex and the City," Boris in "Goldeneye," King James in "Doctor Who," Sandy Frink in "Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion," Mayor Menlove in "Schmigadoon," and so much more.

Cumming has also written six books — including a New York Times #1 bestselling memoir, "Not My Father's Son" — and collaborated with the likes of Liza Minnelli, Jackie Chan, David Bowie, Stanley Kubrick, Jay Z, the Spice Girls, George Lucas, and even Elmo.

All of which is to say: There's nothing Cumming can't do as he's proven his multi-hyphenate supremacy time and time again over the years. He'll soon add "delightfully mysterious gameshow host who lurks about a Scottish castle" to his roster when 10 episodes of "The Traitors" premiere exclusively on Peacock on Jan. 12.