Kevin Spacey
American actor (born 1959) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kevin Spacey Fowler, KBE (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer.
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Early life
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
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.
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Personal life and sexual harassment allegations
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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Filmography
Television
Director
- Albino Alligator (1997)
Producer
- 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
- "Mind Games" — Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music — October 2, 2001 – Radio City Music Hall
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Awards and nominations
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References
Other websites
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