Hollywood actor Alan Cumming has spoken of his proud Scottish roots in a lecture at Glasgow University.
The US-based star of the Good Wife told an audience on Sunday that living abroad he felt “the great love and respect the world has for Scotland”.
Cumming said he would never have made it to drama school without the grant he received, funded by the Scottish taxpayer.
The Tony Award winner was invited to deliver the Cameron Lecture by theatre director and friend John Tiffany.
Aberfeldy-born Cumming, who attended the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “I went and studied and my mum and dad didn’t have to pay for me, in fact I got a full grant.
“I stand before you, a product of the generosity and values of the Scottish taxpayers.”
He added: “I moved away from this country and because of that I feel the great love and respect the world has for Scotland – for its people, for the Scottish theatre and for the Scottish spirit.
“I am proud to stand here before you tonight and tell you I am the sum of all my artistic Scottish parts.”
Cumming and Tiffany collaborated on the hit productions The Bacchae and Macbeth for the National Theatre of Scotland, of which Tiffany is a former associate director.
Tiffany, whose credits include Harry Potter & the Cursed Child and Black Watch, created the lecture in memory of his mentor and friend Dr Alasdair Cameron who died 25 years ago aged 41.
