Childhood
Kevin Spacey Fowler was born in New Jersey on July 26, 1959, in the family of secretary Kathleen and technical writer Thomas Geoffrey Fowler. The family already had two children growing up: Randy (became a limousine driver and worked as a Rod Stewart lookalike) and Julie. When Kevin turned 4, the family moved to Southern California.
Little Kevin Spacey (left) with his mother, brother and sister
According to the actor’s older brother, their childhood was like hell. The head of the family became interested in Nazi ideology, joined the local branch of the American Nazi party and even grew a Hitler mustache to resemble his idol. He beat children, raped his eldest son more than once, and all with the tacit consent of his wife, who was simply afraid to say a word to the tyrant. Julie, unable to bear such a life, ran away from home as soon as she turned 18.
Kevin Spacey's father (left) was a Nazi follower
Books became an outlet for the boy, and school allowed him to escape from the hell at home for at least a little while. At Chartworth High School, where Kevin graduated in 1977, he was one of the top two students. Kevin's passion for acting began at the Chartworth School - in the production of "The Sound of Music" he was entrusted with the role of Captain Georg von Trapp, which he did brilliantly. At this time, he was reading stories about Sherlock Holmes and became eager to play the great detective someday. Determined to become an actor, he took the name “Spacey” as his pseudonym, which was given to him in honor of the maiden name of his paternal grandmother.
Kevin Spacey wanted to become an actor in high school
\ After school, Spacey performed as a comedian; in 1979 he entered the drama department of the famous New York Juilliard School, where he studied until 1981, while simultaneously honing his charisma in stand-up. But he was never able to get a diploma, mainly due to lack of funds - a semester cost the same as a good car. Kevin got a job as a shoe salesman to somehow make ends meet, and after work he knocked around studios and unsuccessfully tried to break into the comedy ranks.
Young Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey - biography, films, photos
- Actors
29/02/2016
Svetlana Savchenko
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Biography:
Kevin Spacey was born in 1959, on July 26, in the small town of South Orange, in the most ordinary family - a secretary and a technical writer. My father's work involved constant moving, so the family traveled with him.
During one of the moves, Kevin's family ended up in Los Angeles. Then the parents decided to send their son to a military school, since it was difficult for them to cope with him. At school, the teenager began to actively play in amateur productions. When Kevin Spacey played in the play “All My Sons,” he received an invitation to Chatsworth High School, to the drama department.
At the same time, Kevin became interested in cinematic art and collected any useful information about this area. In high school, Kevin developed a new hobby - acting in the Nu Art theater and imitating celebrities.
Kevin Spacey photo No. 2
For a short time, Spacey worked part-time as a stand-up comedian. A little later, Kevin entered Los Angeles Valley College, which he never graduated from. But Kevin was very persistent and, as part of the Shakespeare Festival, played in “Henry VI”, which attracted the close attention of the entire Broadway.
In 1990, Kevin Spacey's talent and participation in Lost in Yonkers were awarded the prestigious Tony Theater Award. The same year finally gave me a significant role in Henry and June.
The actor's career developed very smoothly - he had to play more than one passing role before breaking into the first echelon of acting. But no matter what image Kevin appeared on the screen, no matter what genre he played, he was always remembered by the viewer.
Kevin Spacey photo No. 3
Kevin began to take his first steps to fame in the significant year 1995, when he starred in the comedy-drama Among the Sharks and the thriller Seven. The same year brought our hero his first important award: an Oscar for his role in the cult film The Usual Suspects.
Kevin earned his next Academy Award in 1999 for his role as an average man going through a midlife crisis in American Beauty. It is curious that in 2011, the director of the film, Sam Mendes, involved the actor in his production of Richard III.
After the second Oscar, Kevin finally established himself as an outstanding and talented actor, trying his hand at both dramas and comedies: “The Return of Superman”, “Crazy Special Forces”, “Twenty One”.
Kevin Spacey photo No. 4
In 2013, the actor was invited to work on the series House of Cards, which became incredibly popular. Kevin himself says the following about the reasons for such excitement: “It seems to me that such intrigues arouse the interest of any viewer, regardless of his place of residence. In addition, this is a very exciting series, which reveals the discrepancy between the official version of events and what is hidden from the public. People are very curious about how Congress works.”
Almost nothing is known about the actor’s personal life; Kevin carefully hides it from the eyes of paparazzi and reporters. This behavior gave rise to rumors and speculation about his homosexual nature. However, Spacey has repeatedly denied this, and occasionally in the press, news appears about Kevin’s affairs with female actresses and screenwriters, but the actor has never been married, and it seems that he is not going to tie the knot.
Best films:
- Pay someone else
- Seven
- Planet Ka-Pax
- American Beauty
- The Life of David Gale
- House of cards
Video trailer for the series with Kevin Spacey “House of Cards”
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Theater
In 1981, Kevin made his professional stage debut as a “spear holder” - with a tiny role in the production of “Henry the Sixth”, shown as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival.
Young Kevin Spacey's first role on the big stage
A year later, he appeared on the Broadway stage for the first time, playing Oswald in the play “Ghosts.”
Kevin Spacey in "Ghosts"
Subsequently, he was involved in “The Misanthropes” based on Moliere (Filinte), “The Seagull” based on Chekhov (Otrepiev), and “Trouble” by Rabe (Artie). In 1990, the actor received a Tony Award (the theatrical equivalent of an Oscar) for his work in the Broadway production of Lost in Yonkers, based on Neil Simon's play of the same name. Having already become a Hollywood star, Kevin never forgot about the stage. Spacey received rave reviews, for example, for his role in the production of The Ice Man, staged in London in 1998 and on Broadway a year later.
"Ice Seller", 1999
In 2004, Kevin was appointed artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre, a position he held until 2015.
Film career
Before his leap to popularity, Kevin starred in an episode of the acclaimed TV series “Crime Story” in 1986 (the role of a pickpocket), then his filmography was again replenished with a “thief” role thanks to the film “Jealousy,” where the incomparable Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson also played. At the beginning of his career, he could be seen in the TV series “L.A. Law,” “The Equalizer,” “Egghead,” and “The Murder of Mary Phagan.”
Kevin Spacey debuted in 1986
Unfortunately, the series “Umnik” (in another translation “Know-It-All”) is not very familiar to Russian viewers. However, in the States, this crime drama at one time broke records for popularity. Kevin Spacey played the highly charismatic anti-hero, arms dealer Mel Profitt, who appeared in nine episodes.
Kevin Spacey in the series "Egghead"
In 1988, the drama “Working Woman” starring Melanie Griffith was released. Spacey's character, the unpleasant salesman Bob Speck, was minor, like the characters of Joanna Cusack and Alec Baldwin, but viewers remembered it.
Still from the film “Business Woman”
After a number of successful films (“See Nothing, Hear Nothing,” “Daddy,” “Henry and June” with Uma Thurman, “Glengarry Glen Ross” with Al Pacino), Kevin Spacey finally got the role that brought him his first Oscar. . The award was brought to him by Brian Stringer's detective story "The Usual Suspects" (1995) and its hero, a cripple and petty swindler named Chatterbox. The film was structured in such a way that it was difficult to single out a specific main character, but viewers agreed that Spacey became the cement that held this complicated story together with an unexpectedly expected ending. "Suspicious persons." Identification scene In the same year, David Fincher's detective thriller "Seven" starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman was released. Once again, Spacey appeared in the role of an anti-hero - serial killer John Doe, who imagines himself to be the scourge of God. He consistently kills people he believes are guilty of one of the seven deadly sins, and each murder is carefully planned and carried out with sadistic pleasure.
Still from the film "Seven"
After two such gloomy (which does not detract from their genius) roles, filming followed in the films “A Time to Kill” (1996) and “Los Angeles Confidential” (1997). In 1998, Spacey starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the thriller “The Negotiator” and received a record fee for himself of $4.5 million. His hero is Lieutenant Sabian, the protagonist’s negotiator-opponent. By that time, the presence of Kevin Spacey in the film already promised big box office receipts and good reviews from critics.
"The Negotiator": Kevin Spacey as Chris Sabian
At the turn of the millennium, Spacey played perhaps his best role, which ensured his place in the history of world cinema. “American Beauty” (1999) by Sam Mendes collected 5 Oscars out of 8 nominations, including the prize for best film of the year, best director and best actor for Lester, an advertising executive in his fifties, suffering from a midlife crisis.
Kevin Spacey in the movie "American Beauty"
His high school daughter (Tory Burch) hates him, his relationship with his wife (Annette Benning) has long since exhausted itself, and a conservative homophobe has settled in the house across the street, whose son peeks through the windows with a video camera. The turning point in Lester's life was a basketball on which he sees his daughter's friend Angela (Mena Suvari) dancing - he falls in love with a spectacular high school student and begins to dream about sex with her. In his attempts to say goodbye to his old boring life, he learns a lot of new things about himself. "American Beauty" Scene in fast food In 2000, the life-affirming film “Pay Another” was released - about a chain of good deeds started by a schoolboy. After the premiere, Kevin Spacey, who had previously hardly talked to journalists about his personal life, said that he decided to turn the ideas of the film into reality. He founded the Kevin Spacey Foundation, which, together with his production studio Trigger Street Productions, searched for young and talented actors and directors and awarded them grants to implement their plans.
Kevin Spacey's awards include two Oscars.
In 2001, the actor tried his hand at the unusual genre of science fiction, playing the alien Prot from the planet Ka-Pax in the film of the same name. His passionate story about his home made psychiatrist Powell (Jeff Bridges) question his competence.
“And now, with your permission, I need to catch a ray of light.”
Each of Spacey’s roles is so natural that the audience believed even the trembling of her lips and the flutter of her eyelashes. In the film “The Life of David Gale” (2003), there was no viewer who did not believe its hero, an opponent of the death penalty, who did not spare his life for the sake of his convictions. "The Life of David Gale". Kevin Spacey monologue
Kevin Spacey and the sex scandal
In October 2020, 58-year-old Kevin Spacey admitted that he is gay. The coming out occurred against the backdrop of a very unpleasant story: actor Anthony Rapp said that back in 1986, a drunken Kevin Spacey sexually harassed him. At that time, Rapp was 14 years old. In his Twitter, Kevin admitted that he does not remember anything about the events of 30 years ago, but he is very ashamed. “I have deep respect for Anthony as an actor. I sincerely apologize to him." Then the actor decided to put an end to the rumors surrounding his non-traditional sexual orientation. “I have had relationships with both men and women. But now I have decided to live as a gay man."
At 58, Kevin Spacey admitted that he is gay
After Rapp's statement, the creators of "House of Cards" announced the freeze of filming of the sixth season, in which Spacey played the main role, then he was deprived of the Emmy Award and cut out references to him from the series "This Is Us" (one of its characters is happy that he got the role in Spacey's film).
Victims of Spacey's harassment: Rapp, Cavazos and Montana
And a couple of days later, two more people admitted to harassment by Spacey. The first was actor Roberto Cavazos, who served with Kevin at the Old Vic Theater. On Facebook, he described “a couple of nasty meetings with Spacey” in which he lured Cavazos to a “champagne picnic” under the guise of a business conversation. The second is Hollywood director Tony Montana. He met a drunken Spacey in a bar, and he grabbed him by the area between his legs. Tony had, according to him, to actually fight off Spacey’s annoying advances.
After the scandal, the actor disappeared from social events and social networks. The Kevin Spacey Foundation, which supported young actors, closed after the actor was accused of harassment. House of Cards continued filming without him. A couple of weeks after the scandalous news, the actor went to 45-day therapy.
Kevin Spacey in the movie "Billionaires Club"
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Kevin Spacey now
One of Spacey’s last roles was in the drama “The Billionaires Club.” Filming took place in 2015-2016, when the actor was still “clean” in the eyes of the public. But the creators of the film delayed post-production, and the film was released in August 2020. The creators refused to cut scenes with Spacey, but due to public outcry in the United States, the film was shown in only eight cinemas. During the first day of release, “The Billionaires Club” collected $126 in America against a budget of $15 million.
Kevin Spacey in court (June 2020)
In the summer of 2020, the court acquitted Spacey on a number of counts. The case fell apart due to lack of evidence. The investigation into other episodes is still ongoing, but some publications have already announced Spacey’s return to the big screen. However, even in the event of a complete acquittal, there is a high probability that an unpleasant aftertaste will turn fellow actors and directors away from Kevin.
Latest news about Kevin Spacey
Spacey is actively involved in new projects. In March 2017, the premiere of the action film with elements of the comedy “Baby Driver” took place. In Russia, rental will begin at the end of August. In the film, Kevin played the role of the criminal leader Doc. The film was highly appreciated by film critics and early audiences.
In May 2020, the fifth season of House of Cards was released, in which the actor played the main role. The script is very relevant, it touches on political issues related to the US presidential election. The actor's filming partner was Kate Mara.
