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Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey’s screen work has often relied on a particular tension: the sense that calculation, insecurity and menace may be operating at once. Born in South Orange, New Jersey, on July 26, 1959, he developed his craft onstage, studying drama at Juilliard and making his first professional stage appearance in 1981. Theatre remained a substantial part of his career even as film brought him wider recognition. His early movie roles included businessman Bob Speck in Working Girl and an appearance in the comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil. By Glengarry Glen Ross, where he played the office manager in the film adaptation of David Mamet’s play, Spacey had become firmly associated with character parts that could turn authority into something needling, defensive or quietly threatening. That quality was central to The Usual Suspects. As the enigmatic Verbal Kint, Spacey occupied the apparent weak point in an ensemble of criminals while keeping the character’s full significance carefully out of reach. The performance won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Four years later, American Beauty placed him at the centre of the story as Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father and advertising executive who begins recklessly pursuing a sense of freedom. The role brought Spacey a second Academy Award, as well as BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild honours. His career has extended beyond film acting into television, stage performance, directing, producing and screenwriting. He served as artistic director of London’s Old Vic for ten years and continued appearing in major theatre productions during that period. On television, he played Frank Underwood in House of Cards and received major award recognition for the role. Spacey’s career was sharply disrupted after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct emerged in 2017. He was fired from House of Cards, and his completed performance in All the Money in the World was replaced. He subsequently maintained a lower profile before taking roles in smaller international and independent productions.