Alan Cumming - Cumming Felt 'Awkward' Around Taymor On Tempest Set

Cumming walked away from his role as the Green Goblin in lavish Broadway stage production Spider-Man:Turn Off the Dark last April (10) after a series of set-backs.

The show, directed by Taymor, has since been further delayed following a string of on-set accidents, including the hospitalisation of seriously injured stuntman Christopher Tierney, who underwent spinal surgery after falling from a ledge during a performance last month (Dec10).

Cumming is relieved he escaped the ill-fated production in time, but admits he was scared his relationship with Taymor would be tainted when filming began on her big screen re-imagining of the Shakespeare play.

He tells Britain's The Guardian, "My God, that was a lucky escape. Jesus Christ! Talk about dodging a bullet there! It just f**ked me about. It kept getting delayed and delayed, and so I was like, 'OK, time to move on.'

"It was a bit awkward (with Taymor). She wasn't best pleased when I quit. But the thing about Julie is that she's very blinkered about her work, and then things go into the ether. So the next time I saw her for The Tempest, it was like it never happened."