"There have been a lot of directors who have fought for me over the years, to put me in their movies," begins Kevin Spacey, dismissing the suggestion that he is an overnight sensation. "Now, their movies may not have become big hits, and this is certainly the first year I've been in movies that have made this kind of money, but I don't look at it like I've suddenly arrived. I've been here, very quietly, weaving my basket under the bridge for a while."

In the 15 years since he left the Juilliard drama school, Kevin Spacey has carved out a rather fine living for himself alternating between theatre and movies, making his film debut with Heartburn, and building up the sort of critical reputation that eventually won him a Tony Award. Having almost given up movies after Henry And June, Spacey went back to the theatre, and it was while appearing in Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers on Broadway that he was spotted by Al Pacino, who brought along director James Foley to a performance the following week.

"The next thing I knew I found myself auditioning for Glengarry Glen Ross," says the 36-year-old Spacey.

Written by David Mamet, the film was an actor's dream, with a cast to die for (Pacino, Jack Lemmon, et al). But as is often the case, nobody came. Since then, Spacey's choices have mainly come profit-side-up. While Hostile Hostages didn't exactly pack 'em in, Outbreak, The Usual Suspects and Seven have helped audiences finally put a name to that familiar face. Ironically, he was cast in Seven just two days before shooting began - on the proviso he wasn't credited.

"They were very, very against it, but I was very, very for, for what I think are now obvious reasons," he explains. "It also meant I was able to he in a movie that has made $200 million and I didn't have to do any publicity."

For all Seven’s stylistic menace, it was Spacey's chilling performance that sent shivers up most people's spines.
"My experience of doing that film, with the exception of running around a building for a couple of days and the scene in the desert, was sitting in the back of the car having a conversation. When I saw the movie I saw the havoc my character had wreaked, and I understand why people responded the way they did. But you have to realize that the audience is doing half of my work at that point. Everything built up to that scene and so you don't have to he drooling in the back seat, you just have to talk."

There was even more talking as Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects. Spacey had known both Bryan Singer and writer Chris McQuarrie for a while when they sent him the script.

"They didn't tell me which role to read, they just said, 'See if there's anything in it you like.' It took me by surprise, and I had to read it again to try to begin to understand it. I still can't claim that I completely understand it."

So, are you Keyser Soze?
"Ah well," laughs Spacey, side-stepping the issue, "there are many different interpretations. I had to make my own in order to play the role and I think that's up to the watcher."
"lt's so funny," he continues, "that this name - that nobody could pronounce, by the way. I'm telling you, Gabriel Byrne did more takes doing (Does excellent Byrne accent), 'There is no Kooser Soozni. I'm sorry, Christ, how the fuck do you pronounce this name?' and we said, 'Keyser Soze', and he'd try it again. 'There is no Kooser Soozni ... Oh fuck.' Then Baldwin would fuck it up. I fucked it up constantly. lt's so funny how this name has become this lingo. lt's strange how these things turn out."

Like his Oscar nomination for instance.
"The movie was written as an ensemble and to be picked out of an ensemble is a little bit embarrassing," he says, somewhat embarrassed. "There's a little bit of awkwardness to it because you just don't do these things alone. But the nice part is I know so many people nominated this year. Mare Winningham (Nominated for Best Supporting Actress) and I went to high school together."

Does he worry that after Seven, Suspects and his convincing turn as a maniacal movie executive in this month's Swimming With Sharks that he'll be pegged forever as the bad guy?
"I view them as all very, very different. I think they perhaps leave an overall impression that is dark, but that's interesting. I am only able to do what they ask me to do or what I'm able to pursue. Nobody knows about all the things I decided not to do, which is more telling."

Such as?
"Things that I felt were nothing more than mindless career moves, opportunities to make gobs of money. I've opted to make a little less money and be able to look myself in the eye when I shave in the morning."

We'll next see Spacey opposite Sandra Bullock in A Time To Kill ("in which I don't play a bad guy, I play a prosecuting attorney") and in AL Pacino’s Shakespeare documentary, Looking For Richard. While he plans to return to the theatre in the autumn, Spacey is close to finishing up his first film as director: Albino Alligator, a hostage thriller drama starring Matt Dillon and Faye Dunaway. Directing had been an ambition for some time.

"I had probably one of the most sublime experiences of my life", he enthuses, "and I'm thoroughly hooked. The needle is fully in my arm and I'm running out of serum. I can't wait to do it again..."

MARK SALISBURY