Alan Cumming's Return To The Good Wife Universe Was Supposed To Be Radically Different
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The Good Wife was a magnet for talented actors. Whether it was the likes of Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, or Dennis O'Hare as Judge Abernathy, the CBS show was stacked with powerhouses. And despite rumors of on-set feuds, many of the cast returned for Paramount+ The Good Fight.
However, it took Alan Cumming, who played Eli Gold in 121 episodes of The Good Wife, a whopping six seasons to reprise his beloved character.
During a superb interview with Vulture, the acclaimed Broadway star was totally upfront about why it took him so long to return, how co-creators Michelle and Robert King convinced him, and just how different his reprisal was supposed to be.
Why Alan Cumming Returned As Eli Gold So Late Into The Good Fight
Alan had made such a mark for himself as Eli Gold in The Good Wife that it only made sense for him to return in the spin-off series. However, getting Alan to come back was an arduous process. After all, his character didn't reappear until the sixth season of The Good Fight. Specifically, in a fabulous curse-word-filled shocker in the second episode.
"This had been a long time coming," Alan said to Vulture. "There had been a lot of negotiations about money and blah, blah, blah and me feeling it’s important to understand your worth and expect to get paid what you got paid the last time you played this character."
Of course, this wasn't the first time Alan has turned down a coveted role over a salary dispute. But with The Good Fight, the problem was far more personal.
This issue was built on strife behind the scenes at CBS' The Good Wife. According to Vulture, Alan has claimed that he and Julianna Margulies weren't paid enough for their original roles.
"They paid the rate. They coughed up," Alan said. "It was a win-win situation.
Alan Cumming's Return As Eli Gold Was Almost Very, Very Different
After the financial and logistical issues were worked out, Alan claimed that he was excited to see what the Kings had in store for Eli.
"The thing that excited me was they were going to kill me off initially! I thought that would be a great thing to do. So I shot the first episode, and then I got COVID during the filming of it, and then there was a gap, and then right before I was about to start the second one, they went, 'Oh, Alan, we can’t kill you. The studio won’t let us, and one of the producers cried when they read it.' So then I didn’t die. And I was so looking forward to dying!"
While Alan is unsure of the precise details of his character's death, he believed it was supposed to be instead of offing Frank Landau at the fundraiser.
"I think so, or it might have happened in the court. I can’t remember, but he was going to go!" Alan said to Vulture when he was asked about it.
"But then Frank went instead, and I felt terrible for Mike, the actor, for him to be collateral damage, but when I heard this was the final season, I didn’t feel so bad. He wouldn’t be able to come back anyway."
Alan continued by saying, "So what ended up happening was actually so much more exciting to play than just, you know, getting shot. Initially, I was disappointed that I didn’t die, but then I loved my Jackie O moment." So what ended up happening was actually so much more exciting to play than just, you know, getting shot. Initially, I was disappointed that I didn’t die, but then I loved my Jackie O moment."
Alan Cumming's Favorite Moment As Eli Gold
While Alan Cumming may only have a couple of episodes in The Good Fight, he has 121 episodes of The Good Wife to look back on. And he seems to do so fondly. He has been asked about his experience on the show numerous times and without failure, Alan always praises it.
But does he have a favorite moment?
"There’s lots of hilarious, histrionic ones like when he’s trying to strangle Frank Landau or when he chokes. But I think it’s more of the tender things that stuck with me," Alan admitted to Vulture.
"With Sarah or when America Ferrera was in it and there was a near-relationship that didn’t quite work out. I loved the scene when he told Alicia he deleted the voicemail and she threw all the plates at him. I loved that scene. It’s funny: Something comes into your life that you don’t really understand or don’t know what to do with — I just thought, What? — but it lasts so long and it has such a big impact on your life. I love Eli, and it’s been such an amazing thing to do."
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