Alan Cumming Says Young Queer Men Don't Care About the AIDS Crisis

Alan Cumming is currently promoting his newest film, After Louie, which follows a former ACT UP activist that decides to let go of his baggage and reassess where he stands in the modern LGBTQ community, with which he harbors resentment towards. Directed by Vincent Wm. Gagliostro, After Louie explores the divide between queer men that came up on either side of the AIDS epidemic, through a cross-generational relationship between Sam (Cumming) and a much younger man, Braeden (Zachary Booth).

In a conversation with The Guardian, Cumming reflected on the film and how young queer men view AIDS today. "That sort of discussion between an older gay man and a younger gay man, and the differences between their generations, is happening everywhere," Cumming said. "I know so many older gay men who are like: 'You don't know what the Aids crisis was like,' but I also know a lot of young gay guys who are like: 'Who cares?'"

The queer actor continued, saying he rationalizes both perspectives. "I can understand why younger people can feel slightly patronised by older people who lived through it," Cumming said. "But at the same time, I can also understand the bewilderment and despair that people from an older generation went through. I know people who went through all that, who are like: 'Isn't it amazing that these kids don't have to worry like we did?' It's a very nuanced argument."

After Louie premiered this weekend at the BFI Flare Film Festival in London.