Kevin Spacey

American actor (b. 1959)

Kevin Spacey Fowler, KBE (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer.

Kevin Spacey

Spacey in 2013
Born
Kevin Spacey Fowler

(1959-07-26) July 26, 1959 (age 65)
EducationJuilliard School
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
  • singer
Years active1981–present
WorksFilmography
AwardsFull list
Websitekevinspacey.com

Early life

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Spacey was born on July 26, 1959 in South Orange, New Jersey. He moved to Southern California at age four. The name "Spacey" was the surname of his grandmother, he took it as his acting surname in high school.[1][2] He worked as an actor in the theatre before he worked in movies and shows.

Career

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Spacey's first professional stage appearance was in 1981. He was a spear carrier in a New York Shakespeare Festival performance of Henry VI, Part 1.[3] In 1982, he made his first Broadway appearance, as Oswald in a production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, starring Liv Ullmann. Then he played Philinte in Molière's The Misanthrope. In 1984, he appeared in a production of David Rabe's stage play Hurlyburly, in which he played each of the male parts on different nights. Next came Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. In 1986, he appeared in a production of Sleuth in a New Jersey dinner theatre.[4] He became best known as a stage actor in 1986, when he was cast opposite Jack Lemmon, Peter Gallagher and Bethel Leslie as Jamie, the eldest Tyrone son in Jonathan Miller's production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. Lemmon became a mentor to Spacey.[5] Although he had decided he liked making movies better, Spacey stayed active in 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.

He got his Oscar Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Usual Suspects and for Best Actor in American Beauty (1999). A few of the other movies in which he played the main part are Seven, L.A. Confidential, Pay It Forward and Superman Returns. He worked as the artistic director of the Old Vic theatre at London in 2003 and played Francis Underwood in the television drama series, House of Cards until 2017 when allegations of sexual harassment arose about Spacey. Spacey was set to play J. Paul Getty in the 2017 crime drama movie All the Money in the World, but after sexual harassment statements were made against Spacey, director Ridley Scott decided to cut his scenes and Christopher Plummer replaced him.

Personal life and sexual harassment allegations

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Spacey came out as gay in October 2017.[6]

In late October 2017, in a response for the #MeToo campaign, actor Anthony Rapp alleged that Spacey, while appearing drunk, made a sexual advance to him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old.[7][8] After hearing of this, Spacey apologized on Twitter saying he did not remember the hebephilic incident, but that if he behaved as described by Rapp, he owes him "the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior."[9]

Spacey ended the apology by saying that "I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man."[6]

Afterwards, 13 others came forward saying similar episodes of abuse.[10] On November 1, Spacey stated that he would be seeking "evaluation and treatment" for his behavior.[11][12] One of the accusers was Norwegian royal Ari Behn.[13]

In December 2018, Spacey was charged with sexually assaulting a male minor in Nantucket, Massachusetts in July 2016. Spacey appeared in court on January 7, 2019.[14]

Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
1981 Henry IV, Part 1 Messenger [15]
1982 Ghosts Oswald Alving
1982 The Mousetrap
1983 As You Like It
1983 The Misanthrope Philinte
1984 Hurlyburly Understudy for Phil, Eddie and Mickey
1985 The Seagull Konstantin
1991 Lost in Yonkers Louie
1997 The Iceman Cometh Theodore "Hickey" Hickman
2005 Richard II Richard II
2006 A Moon for the Misbegotten Jim Tyrone
2008 Speed-the-Plow Charlie Fox
2009 Inherit the Wind Henry Drummond
2011 Richard III Richard III

Filmography

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Year Title Role Director(s) Notes
1986 Heartburn Subway Thief Mike Nichols
1988 Rocket Gibraltar Dwayne Hanson Daniel Petrie
Working Girl Bob Speck Mike Nichols
1989 See No Evil, Hear No Evil Kirgo Arthur Hiller
Dad Mario Gary David Goldberg
1990 A Show of Force Frank Curtin Bruno Barreto
Henry & June Richard Osborn Philip Kaufman
1992 Glengarry Glen Ross John Williamson James Foley
Consenting Adults Eddy Otis Alan J. Pakula
1994 Iron Will Harry Kingsley Charles Haid
The Ref Lloyd Chasseur Ted Demme
Swimming with Sharks Buddy Ackerman George Huang Also co-producer
1995 The Usual Suspects Roger "Verbal" Kint Bryan Singer
Outbreak Casey Schuler Wolfgang Petersen
Se7en John Doe David Fincher
1996 A Time to Kill Rufus Buckley Joel Schumacher
Streak: Showdown of the Teams Maximilian van Statten III Joss Whedon
Albino Alligator Himself Directorial debut
1997 L.A. Confidential Jack Vincennes Curtis Hanson
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil James Arthur Williams Clint Eastwood
1998 The Negotiator Chris Sabian F. Gary Gray
Hurlyburly Mickey Anthony Drazan
A Bug's Life Hopper (voice) John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton
1999 American Beauty Lester Burnham Sam Mendes
The Big Kahuna Larry Mann John Swanbeck Also producer
2000 Ordinary Decent Criminal Michael Lynch Thaddeus O'Sullivan Also producer
Pay It Forward Eugene Simonet Mimi Leder
2001 K-PAX Prot / Robert Porter Iain Softley
The Shipping News Quoyle Lasse Hallström
2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember Himself / Famous Dr. Evil ('Austinpussy') Jay Roach Cameo
2003 The Life of David Gale David Gale Alan Parker
The United States of Leland Albert T. Fitzgerald Matthew Ryan Hoge Also producer
2004 Beyond the Sea Bobby Darin Himself Also director, producer and writer
2005 Edison Levon Wallace David J. Burke Direct-to-video
2006 Superman Returns Lex Luthor Bryan Singer
2007 Fred Claus Clyde Northcut David Dobkin
2008 21 Mickey Rosa Robert Luketic Also producer
Telstar: The Joe Meek Story Major Wilfred Banks Nick Moran
2009 Shrink Henry Carter Jonas Pate Also producer
Moon GERTY (voice) Duncan Jones
The Men Who Stare at Goats Larry Hooper Grant Heslov
2010 Father of Invention Robert Axle Trent Cooper Also producer
Casino Jack Jack Abramoff George Hickenlooper
2011 Margin Call Sam Rogers J.C. Chandor
Horrible Bosses Dave Harken Seth Gordon
Inseparable Chuck Dayyan Eng Mandarin Chinese title: Xing ying bu li
Also executive producer
2012 Envelope Evgeniy Petrov Aleksey Nuzhny Short movie
2014 Horrible Bosses 2 Dave Harken Sean Anders
2016 Elvis & Nixon Richard Nixon Liza Johnson
Nine Lives Tom Brand / Mr. Fuzzypants Barry Sonnenfeld
2017 Rebel in the Rye Whit Burnett Danny Strong
Baby Driver Doc Edgar Wright
2018 Billionaire Boys Club Ron Levin James Cox
N/A Gore Gore Vidal Michael Hoffman Cancelled (2017 production)

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 The Equalizer Detective Sgt. Cole Episode: "Solo"
1987 Long Day's Journey into Night James "Jamie" Tyrone Jr Television film
1987 Crime Story Senator Rourke Episode: "The Senator, the Movie Star, and the Mob"
1988 The Murder of Mary Phagan Wes Brent Miniseries
1988 Wiseguy Mel Profitt 7 episodes
1989 Unsub Benton Episode: "Clean Slate"
1990 When You Remember Me Wade Television film
1990 Fall from Grace Jim Bakker Television film
1991 Darrow Clarence Darrow Television film
1991-1997 Streak Maximilian van Statten III Recurring cast
1992 L.A. Law Giles Keenan Episode: "Guess Who's Coming To Murder"
1993 TriBeCa Chris Boden Episode: "Heros Exoletus"
1994 Doomsday Gun Jim Price Television film
1997, 2006 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) 2 episodes
2008 Recount Ron Klain Television film
2013–2017 House of Cards Francis "Frank" Underwood Main role; also executive producer
2014 The Colbert Report Frank Underwood Episode: "1,394"
2017 71st Tony Awards Himself (host) Television special
2017 Manhunt: Unabomber Miniseries; executive producer

Director

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  • Albino Alligator (1997)

Producer

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  • Interstate 84 (2000)
  • The Sasquatch Gang (2006)
  • The Good Student (2006)
  • Mini's First Time (2006)
  • Bernard & Doris (2006)
  • Columbus Day (2008)
  • Hackers Wanted (2009)
  • Fanboys (2009)
  • The Social Network (2010)
  • Safe
  • Captain Phillips (2013)

Live performances

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  • "Mind Games" — Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music — October 2, 2001 – Radio City Music Hall

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominated work Award Result
1995 The Usual Suspects Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble and Supporting Actor Won
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actor Won
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
1996 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated
Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
1997 L.A. Confidential Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actor Won
1998 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor Won
Empire Award for Best Actor Won
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast Nominated
1999 American Beauty Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Won
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Won
Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Won
2000 Academy Award for Best Actor Won
American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Drama Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Won
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama Nominated
Jupiter Award for Best International Actor Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Won
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Won
Online Film and Television Association Award for Best Actor Won
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Won
Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Actor Won
Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role and Cast in a Motion Picture Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Won
2013 House of Cards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Nominated
Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Drama Nominated

References

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  1. Who's who in the world, 1991-1992 (Volume 10 of Who's who in the world). Marquis Who's Who. 1990. pp. 348. ISBN 0837911109.
  2. Soroff, Jonathan (2007). "Soroff/On Kevin Spacey". The Improper Bostonian. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  3. "Henry IV Part One - Kevin Spacey". www.kevinspacey.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  4. Cerasaro, Pat (May 2, 2014). "Flash Friday: A Kevin Spacey Cornucopia – Stage, Big Screen, Small Screen & Now". Broadway World. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. "In Step With: Kevin Spacey". Parade Magazine. December 5, 2004.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Spacey, Kevin (October 29, 2017). "pic.twitter.com/X6ybi5atr5". twitter.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  7. Nordyke, Kimberly (October 29, 2017). "'Star Trek' Star Claims Kevin Spacey Made a Pass at Him at Age 14; Spacey Apologizes, Comes Out as Gay". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  8. Felman, Kate (October 29, 2017). "Anthony Rapp accuses Kevin Spacey of trying to seduce him when he was 14". New York Daily News. New York. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  9. Kanetkar, Riddhima (October 29, 2017). "Kevin Spacey: Sexual Advances On Teenaged Anthony Rapp Was 'Inappropriate Drunken Behavior'". International Business Times. New York. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  10. "Kevin Spacey scandal: A complete list of the 14 accusers". USA Today.
  11. Rahman, Abid (November 1, 2017). "Kevin Spacey to seek "evaluation and treatment" in wake of sexual assault claim". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  12. Staff writer (November 2, 2017). "Kevin Spacey seeks treatment as more stars face harassment claims". BBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  13. "Kevin Spacey 'groped Norwegian king's son-in-law'". BBC News. December 8, 2017. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  14. "Kevin Spacey: Actor charged with sexual assault in Massachusetts". BBC News. December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  15. Spacey, Kevin. "Henry IV Part One". www.kevinspacey.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.

Other websites

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