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Biography #2 (for Fred Claus)

Kevin Spacey is a two-time Academy Award winner who has built an impressive body of work on screen and on stage.

Spacey won his first Oscar for his enigmatic performance in Bryan Singer's 1995 thriller The Usual Suspects, for which he was also named Best Supporting Actor by the National Board of Review and received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations. He won his second Academy Award for his work in Sam Mendes' Oscar-winning suburban satire American Beauty. Spacey's performance in that film also brought him BAFTA and SAG Awards, and a Golden Globe nomination, as well as several film critics' awards for Best Actor.

Spacey has also delivered critically acclaimed performances in such films as David Fincher's crime thriller Se7en, for which he won National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and Curtis Hanson's mystery thriller L.A. Confidential, for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for the biopic Beyond the Sea, which he also wrote, directed and produced; and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his portrayal of a sadistic Hollywood exec in George Huang's Swimming with Sharks.

Most recently, Spacey reunited with director Bryan Singer to star in Superman Returns as Superman's formidable nemesis, Lex Luther. Spacey's other film credits include The Life of David Gale; K-PAX; The Negotiator; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; Glengarry Glen Ross; The Ref; and Working Girl.

Spacey made his directorial debut with the crime drama Albino Alligator, starring Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise, Faye Dunaway and Viggo Mortensen. In 1997, Spacey founded Trigger Street Productions and has since produced several film and stage productions under the banner, including Beyond the Sea, The United States of Leland, The Big Kahuna and Hurlyburly, along with such stage productions as Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and Lee Blessing's Cobb. Among Trigger Street's upcoming film releases are 21, the fact-based story of six MIT students who took Vegas for millions, in which Spacey will also star, and the adventure comedy Fanboys. Apart from Trigger Street, Spacey will also star in the British music-infused drama Telstar, set for theatrical release in 2008.

On television, Spacey will next star in the HBO Film Recount, which chronicles the turbulent events in Florida after the 2002 presidential election. The telefilm is a Trigger Street, Spring Creek, Mirage Entertainment and Everyman Pictures production. Among Spacey's many television credits are the crime-drama series Wiseguy, the PBS telefilm Darrow and, with Jack Lemmon, The Murder of Mary Phagan, directed by George Stevens Jr., and Dad, directed by Gary David Goldberg.

Honored for his work on the stage, Spacey won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1991 for his performance as Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers. In 1998, Spacey returned to the stage in Eugene O'Neill's classic The Iceman Cometh, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award and won an Evening Standard and an Olivier Award for Best Actor.

Trained at the Juilliard School of Drama, Spacey made his NY stage debut in Joseph Papp's Central Park production of Henry IV, Part I. His breakthrough came when director Jonathan Miller cast him in the Broadway and London productions of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, where he met his future mentor, Jack Lemmon. Spacey's other stage credits include The Seagull at The Kennedy Center; the Long Wharf/Old Vic production of National Anthems; Barrie Keefe's Barbarians at SoHo Rep; and Athol Fugard's Playland at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Spacey currently serves as the artistic director of The Old Vic Theatre in London, where he has produced and/or starred in such stage productions as Cloaca, which he also directed; Aladdin, with Sir Ian McKellen; Dennis McIntyre's National Anthems; The Philadelphia Story; Richard II, directed by Trevor Nunn; Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale; Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues; and O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, which transferred to Broadway last spring. He will next appear at the Old Vic in January in the Matthew Warchus production of David Mamet's Speed-The-Plow.

In 2002, Spacey co-founded TriggerStreet.com, an online community for filmmakers and screenwriters with the goal of discovering and showcasing new talent.

Bio courtesy Warner Bros. for "Fred Claus" (10-Nov-2007)


Biography #3 (for Beyond the Sea)

Since childhood the theatre has been Kevin Spacey's primary allegiance with roles ranging from high school to Broadway. He trained at the Juilliard School of Drama and made his New York stage debut in Joseph Papp's Central Park production of HENRY IV, PART I.

His breakthrough came when director Jonathan Miller cast Spacey as the ne'er-do-well son of the late Jack Lemmon in the 1986 Broadway production of Eugene O'Neil's LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, which also played the Haymarket Theatre in London. Other favorite roles include Treplov in THE SEAGULL (Kennedy Center); Ben in NATIONAL ANTHEMS (Long Wharf); Paul in Barrie Keefe's BARBARIANS (SoHo Rep); Athol Fugard's PLAYLAND (Manhattan Theatre Club); and Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's LOST IN YONKERS, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor.

His close association with Mr. Lemmon continued as they shared the screen on three other projects; George Steven's Jr's THE MURDER OF MARY PHAGAN for NBC, Gary David Goldberg's DAD for Paramount and David Mamet's screen adaptation of GLENGARY GLEN ROSS, co-starring Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Alec Baldwin.

Nine years ago cinema audiences discovered Spacey in three distinct performances as Buddy Akerman in George Huang's SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, Verbal Kint in Bryan Singer's THE USUAL SUSPECTS and John Doe in David Fincher's SE7EN. He has continued to build an impressive body of work with such films as LA CONFIDENTIAL, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, THE NEGOTIATOR, HURLYBURLY, LOOKING FOR RICHARD, THE BIG KAHUNA, K-PAX, THE SHIPPING NEWS, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE and AMERICAN BEAUTY. Many of these performances have won him nominations and awards including two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for SUSPECTS and Best Actor for AMERICAN BEAUTY as well as the Screen Actors Guild and British Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 1998 he returned to the stage following a five year absence in Eugene O'Neill's classic THE ICEMAN COMETH. The production originated at London's Almedia Theatre and later transferred to the Old Vic Theatre and onto Broadway (with Spacey as producer), where it played a sold-out acclaimed run. For his performance as Hickey he was nominated for the Tony Award (the play received 5 nominations) and won the Evening Standard Award and the Laurence Olivier Award as Best Actor.

His work on television has included 7 episodes of WISEGUY and the film DARROW for PBS.

He made his directorial debut with the Miramax film ALBINO ALLIGATOR starring Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise, Faye Dunaway and Viggo Mortensen.

Spacey formed Trigger Street Productions in 1997, which produced ICEMAN and KAHUNA and the off-Broadway production of Lee Blessing's COBB at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Trigger Street's feature THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND, starring Don Cheadle and Ryan Gosling for first time writer/director Matthew Hoge premiered in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Paramount Classics. Trigger Street will next produce the film of Ben Mezrich's amazing tale of six MIT students who learned the art of card counting and took Vegas for millions in BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE for MGM, under the direction of Brett Ratner. Trigger Street is also producing the feature MINI'S FIRST TIME for first time writer/director Nick Guthe, starring Alec Baldwin, Nicky Reed, Carrie Ann Moss and Luke Wilson.

In November 2002, Spacey and business partner Dana Brunetti launched TRIGGERSTREET.COM, the web-based filmmaker and screenwriter' community; an interactive site for the purpose of discovering and showcasing new and unique talent. Budweiser sponsors the site with Real Networks and in just two years the site has achieved over 150,000 active members with the top ten finalists in the short film competition having been given major screenings of their films at the Tribeca, Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals.

As an actor Spacey most recently played opposite Morgan Freeman and Justin Timberlake in the film EDISON for writer/director David Burke, who was the head writer on the series WISEGUY.

Kevin is now serving as the new artistic director of The Old Vic Theatre in London, where his first season has just launched with the new Dutch play, CLOACA that he directed. This will be followed by Sir Ian McKellen in the Panto ALADDIN. His acting debut in the company will begin next year in Dennis McIntyre's NATIONAL ANTHEMS, under the direction of David Grindley and then in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY to be directed by Jerry Zaks.

Bio courtesy Lionsgate Films for "Beyond the Sea" (01-Jan-2005)


Biography #4

Kevin Spacey has been seen in the motion pictures Glengarry Glen Ross, Consenting Adults, Iron Will, The Ref, Outbreak, Swimming With Sharks, Seven, A Time To Kill, Looking For Richard, Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil, L.A. Confidential, Hurlyburly, A Bugs Life, The Big Kahuna and American Beauty for which he received the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1995 he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Usual Suspects.

His extensive stage work began in 1981 in Joseph Papp's production of Henry IV, Part I in Central Park, in which he played a messenger with six lines. One year later he made his Broadway debut opposite Liv Ullmann in Ibsen's Ghosts. His breakthrough came as Jamie Tyrone Jr., with Jack Lemmon, in Jonathan Miller's 1986 Broadway and London productions of Eugene O'Neill's Long Days Journey Into Night. He won the 1991 Tony Award for his performance as Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers, with Irene Worth. In addition, he appeared in Athol Fugard's Playland at the Manhattan Theatre Club. He played Ben Cook in the Long Wharf Theatre production of National Anthems, directed by Arvin Brown. Most recently he played Hickey in London's Almeida Theatre production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh for director Howard Davies, and made a triumphant return to Broadway with this production as both actor and producer.

Television audiences are familiar with his work as Mel Profitt on the CBS series Wiseguy, and for his performance as Clarence Darrow in the American Playhouse film, Darrow, directed by John Coles.

He made his debut as a film director with the Miramax release Albino Alligator, starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway and Gary Sinise.

As a producer he is presenting the off-Broadway production of Lee Blessing's Cobb, opening at the Lucille Lortel Theatre this fall, and continues to work as a director of the Old Vic to raise funds for that theatre's future. His Trigger Street Productions is producing several film projects as acting and directing vehicles for Spacey, as well as introducing new filmmakers such as Ross Partridge, whose first feature Interstate 84, was selected for the Toronto Film Festival.

He is currently working on the Universal picture K-Pax for director Iain Softley, which will be released next year.

Bio courtesy Warner Bros. (01-Jan-2000)