The Kevin Spacey Page

We do know that Kevin Spacey was born in New Jersey and raised in Southern California. We know that Spacey's secretary mother and technical writer father--in an act of desperation after an incident involving a book of matches and a sibling's treehouse--sent their intractable child to Northridge Military Academy, where a harsh disciplinary regimen failed to quell his rambunctious behavior. And we know that Kevin was thrown out on his ear for beaning a classmate with a tire during a fight.
(Enter a caring, insightful, junior high Guidance Counselor, who recommends acting as a constructive outlet for his pugilistic tendencies.)
Spacey moved to Chatsworth High School, where he became involved in drama and walked the straight-and-narrow so well that he graduated as co-valedictorian with actress-classmate Mare Winningham (the two also co-starred in a school production of that perennial favorite, The Sound of Music, with Spacey in the role of Captain Von Trapp). After an abbreviated stint at Los Angeles Valley College and a short career turn as a stand-up comic, Spacey next attended the drama program at Julliard on the advice and encouragement of former Chatsworth classmate Val Kilmer. Spacey left Julliard sans diploma after two years to join the New York Shakespeare Festival as an office stooge and a neophyte actor. He earned his professional stage debut, in 1981, as a spear-toting messenger in Henry VI, and shortly thereafter was fired by Joseph "you'll thank me for this later" Papp, who was attempting to force Spacey out into "the real theatre world." Papp's tough-love strategy worked--the next year marked Spacey's critically acclaimed Broadway debut in Ibsen's Ghosts, in which he starred opposite Liv Ullman. On call as pinch hitter for all the male actors in the 1984 production of David Rabe's Hurlyburly, director Mike Nichols rotated the chameleon-like understudy through all the roles during the course of the play's theatrical run, and Spacey has since sought out similar opportunities that challenge his thespian versatility. As he put it, "I only want to do roles that scare the hell out of me or make me work really hard." Kevin also boasts a knack for being in the right place at the right time--when Al Pacino dropped out of the Long Wharf production of National Anthems, Spacey inherited the coveted lead. He remarked of his good fortune, "Now, I'm not the first person I think of after Al Pacino, but luckily we have the same agent."
IN 1986, Spacey enjoyed his first collaboration with mentor Jack Lemmon, in the Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night; Spacey earned raves for his portrayal of Jamie, the eldest son of the tragically dysfunctional Tyrone family. Legendary actress Katharine Hepburn, who starred as the morphine-addled matriarch in the brilliant 1962 film version of Long Day's Journey, turned up backstage to congratulate Spacey after one of his performances, and the two have since maintained an active correspondence: he sends long letters detailing his many projects and she responds with perfunctorily sweet missives like "Dear Kevin, Good for you. Kate." One can only infer he is on the right track. Spacey had his film debut as a subway thief in Heartburn (1986), and went on to command the television series Wiseguy, in which his artfully menacing portrayal of villain Mel Profitt elicited cult-like adoration. His star rising ever higher in the cinematic firmament, Spacey went on to land increasingly more interesting and substantial roles--as a Wall Street wheeler-and-dealer, in Working Girl (1988); as Henry Miller's oddball roommate, in Henry and June (1990); as Clarence Darrow, in Darrow (1991), as a real-estate leech, in Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992), and as half of a maddeningly argumentative couple being held hostage, in The Ref (1994). For good measure, he sandwiched in a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor, in 1991, for his "Uncle Louie" characterization in the stage production of Neil Simon's celebrated play Lost in Yonkers. Ever the master of his own destiny, the brainy, if bland-looking, Spacey has lately been flexing his acting muscles in a series of high-profile films, which hinge largely on his compelling, sometimes certifiable characterizations--1995 saw him traipse into upper-echelon billing in Outbreak, Swimming With Sharks, The Usual Suspects, and Seven. His pivotal performance as a methodically calculating and wily con man, Roger "Verbal" Kint, in The Usual Suspects, handily swiped the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Head in the ether, feet firmly planted on the ground, Spacey dove into a slew of projects, including his role as a district attorney in Joel Schumacher's star-studded summer hit A Time To Kill; Al Pacino's well-received documentary, Looking for Richard, in which he appeared as Buckingham; and his directorial-debut film, Albino Alligator. Spacey is currently working on a proposed stage production of Dennis McIntyre's National Anthems, for which he would act as producer in addition to filling the starring role, on his executive-produced Lonely Place, and on his role in the upcoming L.A. Confidential.

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