Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey Fowler is an American actor and filmmaker recognized for his work across stage, television, and film. Throughout his career, he has earned two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards, along with twelve Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He was also appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2015.

Born in South Orange, New Jersey, Spacey spent much of his childhood in Southern California after his family moved there when he was four years old. He attended Canoga Park High School before graduating as co-valedictorian from Chatsworth High School in 1977, where he starred in a production of The Sound of Music. He adopted his middle name, which was his paternal grandmother's maiden name, for his professional career. After working as a comedian, he studied drama at the Juilliard School in New York City between 1979 and 1981.

Spacey made his professional stage debut in 1981 in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of Henry VI, Part 1, followed by his Broadway debut in 1982 in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. His stage career expanded significantly in 1986 when he was cast alongside Jack Lemmon in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. Around the same time, Spacey launched his film career with minor roles in Mike Nichols's Heartburn (1986) and Working Girl (1988), while also appearing on television in series such as Wiseguy.

In the 1990s, Spacey gained widespread recognition as a character actor. He won a Tony Award in 1991 for his Broadway performance in Lost in Yonkers. He achieved major film success for his portrayal of Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects (1995), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He followed this with key roles in Se7en (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), and L.A. Confidential (1997). In 1999, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Lester Burnham in American Beauty and received a Laurence Olivier Award for his stage work in The Iceman Cometh.

Spacey extended his career into directing with the film Albino Alligator (1996) and later wrote, directed, and starred in the biographical musical Beyond the Sea (2004). His other feature film credits include Pay It Forward (2000), K-Pax (2001), Superman Returns (2006), 21 (2008), and Margin Call (2011). From 2004 to 2015, he served as the artistic director of London's Old Vic theatre, where he directed and performed in numerous stage productions and received the Society of London Theatre Special Award.

From 2013 to 2017, Spacey starred as Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards, earning a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and multiple Emmy Award nominations. He also produced and appeared in HBO projects such as Recount (2008) and Bernard and Doris (2008), and hosted the 71st Tony Awards in 2017.

In 2017, Spacey faced allegations of sexual misconduct, followed by criminal investigations in subsequent years. The criminal cases resulted in either dropped charges or no charges being filed. He was found not liable in a 2022 New York civil lawsuit, and in 2023, a London jury acquitted him of all criminal sexual assault charges.