Who is Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey (born July 26, 1959) is a two time Academy Award winning American actor (film and stage) and director. Spacey grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in the early 1990s, culminating in his first Oscar for 1995's The Usual Suspects, followed by a Best Actor Oscar win for 1999's American Beauty. Spacey has since spent time working on stage productions in London, and has remained in the public eye, starring in several major Hollywood films, including Se7en, Pay It Forward, The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, and his most recent role in Superman Returns.

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In February 2003, Kevin Spacey announced that he was returning to London to become the artistic director of the Old Vic, one of the city's oldest theatres. Spacey directed the new Old Vic Theatre Company, which stages shows eight months out of the year, starting in 2004. Spacey has noted that he is "having the time of his life" working at the Old Vic, and explained that at this point in his career, he feels that he is "trying to do things now that are much bigger than myself and outside of myself".

During the 2004-05 season, Spacey directed a performance of the play "Cloaca" by Maria Goos. He performed in productions of "National Anthems" by Dennis McIntyre, as well in "The Philadelphia Story" by Philip Barry (playing the role made famous by Jimmy Stewart in the film version). Critics applauded Spacey's daring for taking on the management of a theatre.

The 2006 season was a year of highs and lows for Spacey. He performed to good notices in the title role of "Richard II" (directed by Trevor Nunn), but suffered a failure with a production of "Resurrection Blues" (a little-known Arthur Miller play), directed by film director Robert Altman. Despite an all-star Hollywood cast (including Neve Campbell and Matthew Modine) and the pedigree of Miller's script, Spacey's decision to lure Altman to the stage proved disastrous: after a fraught rehearsal period, the play opened to a critical panning, and closed only a few weeks into its run. Spacey resurrected his game later in the year, starring in Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten" along with Colm Meaney and Eve Best. The play received excellent reviews for Spacey and Best, and was transferred to Broadway in 2007.

He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by London South Bank University in November 2005.