'Kevin Spacey' (born
July 26,
1959) is a two-time
Academy Award-winning
American actor (
film and
stage) and director. Spacey grew up in
California, and began his career as a
stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in the early 1990s, culminating in his first
Oscar for 1995's ''
The Usual Suspects'' (Supporting), followed by a
Best Actor Oscar win for 1999's ''
American Beauty''. Spacey has since spent time working on stage productions in
London, and has remained in the public eye, starring in several major
Hollywood films, including ''
Se7en'', ''
Pay It Forward'', ''
L.A. Confidential'', and his most recent role in ''
Superman Returns''.
Biography
Early life
Spacey was born 'Kevin Spacey Fowler'
[1] in
South Orange, New Jersey to Thomas Geoffrey Fowler, a
technical writer, and Kathleen (
née Spacey), a secretary; he has two older siblings: a sister and a brother, Randy. His father, who has been alleged by
Fox News to have been a member of the
American Nazi Party,
[2] was often unemployed, causing the family to move frequently, eventually settling in
Southern California in 1963. Spacey attended
Northridge Military Academy after he set his sister's
treehouse on fire, but was asked to leave after throwing a tire at another student at the academy, and subsequently attended Chatsworth High School in
Chatsworth, California. In the twelfth grade, he starred in the school's senior production of ''
The Sound of Music'', playing the part of
Captain Georg von Trapp, opposite Maria (played by
Mare Winningham). While in high school, he took his mother's maiden name, "Spacey" (originally a
Welsh name, belonging to his great-great-grandfather, spelled "Spacy"), as his acting surname.
[3] Several reports have incorrectly suggested that he took the name in tribute to actor
Spencer Tracy, combining Tracy's first and last names.
3
Spacey had tried to succeed as a
stand-up comedian for several years,
[4] before attending the
Juilliard School in
New York City, where he studied drama, between 1979 and 1981. During this time period, Spacey performed stand-up comedy in
bowling alley talent contests.
4
Career
Spacey's first professional stage appearance was as a messenger in a
New York Shakespeare Festival performance of ''
Henry VI, part 1'' in 1981. The following year he made his first
Broadway appearance in a production of
Henrik Ibsen's ''
Ghosts''. He made his first major television appearance in the second season premiere of ''
Crime Story'', playing a
Kennedy-esque American
Senator. Although his interest soon turned to film, Spacey remained actively involved in the live theater community. In 1991, he won a
Tony Award for his portrayal of "Uncle Louie" in
Neil Simon's
Broadway hit ''
Lost in Yonkers''. Spacey's father was unconvinced that Spacey could make a career for himself as an actor, and did not change his mind until Spacey became a well known theatre actor.
4
Some of Spacey's earlier roles include a widowed eccentric millionaire on ''
L.A. Law'', the
made-for-television film ''
The Murder of Mary Phagan'' (1988) opposite
Jack Lemmon, and the
Richard Pryor/
Gene Wilder-starring comedy ''
See No Evil, Hear No Evil'' (1989). Spacey earned an avid fan following after playing the criminally insane arms dealer Mel Profitt on the
television series ''
Wiseguy''. He quickly developed a reputation as a character actor, and was cast in bigger roles, including one-half of the bickering
Connecticut couple in the
dark comedy ''
The Ref'' (1994), a malicious Hollywood studio boss in the
satire ''
Swimming with Sharks'', and the put-upon office manager in the all-star ensemble film ''
Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992), gaining him positive notices by critics.
In 1995, Spacey played in ''
Se7en'' a
serial killer who murders people he thinks guilty of the
seven deadly sins, and the enigmatic criminal
Verbal Kint in ''
The Usual Suspects''. His role in ''The Usual Suspects'' launched him to A-list status and won him an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 1996, he played an egomaniacal
district attorney in ''
A Time to Kill'', and founded
Trigger Street Productions in 1997 with the purpose of producing and developing
entertainment across various
media. In 1996 he made his directorial debut with the film ''
Albino Alligator''. The film was a failure at the box office but Spacey's direction was praised.
Kevin Spacey in his Oscar winning role as Lester Burnham in ''American Beauty''.
Spacey won universal praise and an
Best Actor Oscar for his role as a
depressed suburban father who re-evaluates his life in 1999's ''
American Beauty''; the same year, he was honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. During the several years following ''American Beauty's release, Spacey appeared in films that he believes "hadn't done as well critically or in terms of box office".
[5] He played a physically and emotionally scarred grade school teacher in ''
Pay It Forward'', a patient in a mental institution who may or may not be an
alien in ''
K-Pax'', and
singer Bobby Darin in ''
Beyond the Sea''. ''Beyond The Sea'' was a lifelong dream project for Spacey, who took on co-writing, directing, and starring duties in the
biography/musical about Darin's life, career, and relationship with late actress
Sandra Dee. Spacey provided his own vocals on the ''Beyond the Sea''
soundtrack and appeared in several tribute concerts around the time of the film's release. He received mostly positive reviews for his singing, as well as a
Golden Globe nomination for his performance. However, reviewers criticized the age disparity between Spacey and Darin, noting that Spacey was too old to convincingly portray him.
5 Spacey has said that despite criticism, he is still proud of the film.
5
Spacey's most recent film role is as the villainous
Lex Luthor in the
Bryan Singer-directed
superhero film, ''
Superman Returns''. It has recently been confirmed that he will reprise the role in the upcoming sequel, scheduled for 2009. The film opened on
June 28,
2006. Spacey also appears in ''
Edison Force'' (originally titled ''Edison''), co-starring
Morgan Freeman and
Justin Timberlake; ''Edison Force'' received a direct-to-video release on
July 18,
2006.
Spacey's next film role is as the
MIT lecturer in the film "
21", where he stars alongside
Kate Bosworth,
Laurence Fishburne, and
Jim Sturgess. The film is based on
Ben Mezrich's best seller, ''
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions'', a story about student MIT card-counters who used
mathematical probability to aid them in card games such as
Black Jack. As of March, 2007, filming for "21" has taken place at The Castle on the
Boston University campus, the MIT campus, and
Boston's
Chinatown.
In 2001, Kevin co-hosted with
Dame Judi Dench ''Unite for the Future Gala'', the
UK's fundraiser for the British Victims of
9/11 and
Medecins Sans Frontieres at
London's
Old Vic Theatre, produced by
Harvey Goldsmith and
Dominic Madden.
Spacey hosted the long-running NBC sketch show
Saturday Night Live twice: once in 1997 with musical guest
Beck and special guests
Michael Palin and
John Cleese from
Monty Python's Flying Circus (where Spacey impersonated
Christopher Walken,
Walter Matthau, and
Jack Lemmon in a three-part pre-taped sketch about actors who auditioned for the original
Star Wars movie) and again in the last episode of the 31st season with musical guest
Nelly Furtado (where Spacey played a detective in the sketch "Two A-Holes At A Crime Scene," one of the Falconer's past selves in Will Forte's "The Falconer" sketch,
Neil Young in a fake commercial for a new album with songs by musicians who are against George W. Bush and his administration, and as himself in a "The Usual Suspects" parody where Andy Samberg lies to Spacey as to why he's late to the show).
Spacey is well-known in Hollywood for his skillful
impersonations - when he appeared on ''
Inside the Actors Studio'' he imitated, at the request of host
James Lipton:
Jimmy Stewart,
Johnny Carson,
Katharine Hepburn,
Clint Eastwood,
John Gielgud,
Marlon Brando,
Christopher Walken,
Al Pacino and
Jack Lemmon.
Old Vic
In February 2003, Spacey announced that he was returning to
London to become the artistic director of the
Old Vic, one of the city's oldest theatres. Spacey directed the new Old Vic Theatre Company, which stages shows eight months out of the year, starting in 2004. Spacey has noted that he is "having the time of [his] life" working at the Old Vic, and explained that at this point in his career, he feels that he is "trying to do things now that are much bigger than myself and outside of myself". During the 2004-05 season, Spacey directed a performance of the play ''
Cloaca'' by
Maria Goos, which opened to mixed reviews. He performed in productions of ''National Anthems'' by Dennis McIntyre, as well in ''
The Philadelphia Story'' by
Philip Barry, playing the role made famous by Jimmy Stewart in the film version. Critics applauded Spacey's daring for taking on the management of a theatre, but noted that while his acting was impressive, his skills and judgment as a producer/manager had yet to develop.
The 2006 season was a year of highs and lows for Spacey. He performed to good notices in the title role of ''
Richard II'' (directed by
Trevor Nunn), but suffered a humiliating failure with a production of "Resurrection Blues", a little-known Arthur Miller play, directed by film director Robert Altman. Despite an all-star Hollywood cast (including Neve Campbell and Matthew Modine) and the pedigree of Miller's script, Spacey's decision to lure Altman to the stage proved disastrous: after a fraught rehearsal period, the play opened to a critical panning, and closed only a few weeks into its run. Spacey resurrected his game later in the year, starring in
Eugene O'Neill's ''
A Moon for the Misbegotten'' along with
Colm Meaney and Eve Best. The play received excellent reviews for Spacey and Best, and was transferred to Broadway in 2007.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by
London South Bank University in November 2005.
Personal life
Spacey is a personal friend of former President
Bill Clinton, having met Clinton before his presidency began.
4 Spacey has described Clinton as "one of the shining lights" of the political process.
4 According to
Federal Election Commission data, Spacey has contributed $42,000 to
Democratic candidates and committees.
[6] He additionally had a
cameo appearance in '', a light-hearted
political satire produced by the
Clinton administration for the
White House Correspondents Dinner.
[7]
In September 2006, Spacey announced that he intends to stay on at the Old Vic, for at least another nine years, and that due to his continuing UK residency he intends to take-up British citizenship when it becomes available to him.
[8]
Filmography
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Other notes |
|---|
| 2004 | ''Beyond the Sea'' | accompanying the release of film of same name |
Singles
Live performances
★ "
Mind Games" - ''Come Together: A Night For John Lennon's Words & Music'' - 02.Oct.2001 -
Radio City Music Hall
References
1. FilmMonthly
2. Fox News
3. The Improper Bostonian
4. ABC TV
5. The Sunday Mail
6. NewsMeat.com
7. The New York Times
8. The Daily Telegraph
External links
★
★
★
Kevin Spacey's exclusive online worldpremier of "The Interrogation of Leo and Lisa" on May 16th 2007
★
Kevin Spacey interview in the UK Independent on Sunday
★
Kevin Spacey's theater play for IWC "Interrogating Leo and Lisa"
★
Leading Men ''Working in the Theatre'' interview video at American Theatre Wing, May 2007
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