He was also close friends with actors Tony Curtis, Ernie Kovacs, Walter Matthau, and Kevin Spacey.

Spacey was born in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of Kathleen Ann ( née Knutson ; December 5, 1931 – March 19, 2003 ), a secretary, and Thomas Geoffrey Fowler ( June 4, 1924 – December 24, 1992 ), a technical writer and data consultant.

Spacey's father was unconvinced that Spacey could make a career for himself as an actor, and did not change his mind until Spacey became well-known.

Spacey won universal praise and a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a depressed suburban father who re-evaluates his life in 1999's American Beauty ; the same year, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Beyond The Sea was a lifelong dream project for Spacey, who took on co-writing, directing, co-producing and starring duties in the biography / musical about Darin's life, career, and relationship with actress Sandra Dee.

However, reviewers criticized the age disparity between Spacey and Darin, noting that Spacey was too old to convincingly portray Darin, particularly during the early stages of the singer's life depicted in the film.

Spacey was the first Hollywood actor to star in a fully Chinese-funded film.

In February 2003, Spacey announced that he was returning to London to become the artistic director of the Old Vic, one of the city's oldest theatres.

In mid-2006, Spacey felt he was having the time of his life working at the Old Vic.

The play received excellent reviews for Spacey and Best, and was transferred to Broadway in 2007.

Based on a true story of a teacher arrested for teaching his students evolution also known as the " Scopes Monkey Trial ," Spacey played defense lawyer Henry Drummond, a role that was made famous by actor Spencer Tracy in the 1960 film of the same name.

Spacey was awarded a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa from the London South Bank University in November 2005.

Dunst was offered the role of Angela in the 1999 drama film American Beauty, but turned it down because she did not want to appear in the film's suggestive sexual scenes or kiss co-star Kevin Spacey.

The alien character of Prot in the book trilogy by Gene Brewer and played by Kevin Spacey in the movie K-PAX, like Proteus was said to embody, was a modernized " shape shifter " and magical type of advanced mystical ET who " walked in " to humanoid bodies, and shared wisdom and insights into the human condition.

Twilight Princess was named Game of the Year by X-Play, Game Trailers, 1UP, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Spacey Awards, Game Informer, GameSpy, Nintendo Power, IGN, and many other websites.

Spacey was Mendes ' first choice for the role of Lester, even though DreamWorks had urged the director to consider better-known actors ; similarly, the studio suggested several actors for the role of Carolyn until Mendes offered the part to Bening without DreamWorks ' knowledge.

Mendes did not want a big star " weighing the film down "; he felt Spacey was the right choice based on his performances in the 1995 films The Usual Suspects and Seven, and 1992's Glengarry Glen Ross.

Before filming, Mendes and Spacey analyzed Jack Lemmon's performance in The Apartment ( 1960 ), because Mendes wanted Spacey to emulate " the way moved, the way he looked, the way he was in that office and the way he was an ordinary man and yet a special man ".

Kevin Spacey, CBE ( born Kevin Spacey Fowler ; July 26, 1959 ) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner.

Spacey hosted Saturday Night Live twice: first in 1997 with musical guest Beck and special guests Michael Palin and John Cleese from Monty Python's Flying Circus ; and again in the last episode of season 31 with musical guest Nelly Furtado.

Spacey also appeared in Edison, co-starring Morgan Freeman and Justin Timberlake ; Edison received a direct-to-video release on July 18, 2006.

Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball ; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting.

DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase American Beautys chances of Academy Award success ; at the 72nd Academy Awards the following year, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor ( for Spacey ), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

" Mendes offered Bening the role of Carolyn without the studio's consent ; although executives were upset at Mendes, by September 1998, DreamWorks had entered negotiations with Spacey and Bening.

During the film, Lester's physique improves from flabby to toned ; Spacey worked out during filming to improve his body, but because Mendes shot the scenes out of chronological order, Spacey varied postures to portray the stages.

Spacey and Bening worked to create a sense of the love that Lester and Carolyn once had for one another ; for example, the scene in which Lester almost seduces Carolyn after the pair argue over Lester's buying a car was originally " strictly contentious ".

Mendes encouraged some improvisation ; for example, when Lester masturbates in bed beside Carolyn, the director asked Spacey to improvise several euphemisms for the act in each take.

Critically acclaimed, American Beauty was widely considered the best film of 1999 by the American press ; it received overwhelming praise, chiefly for Spacey, Mendes and Ball.

In 2000, Hunt starred in four films: Dr. T & the Women, with Richard Gere ; Pay It Forward, with Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment ; What Women Want, with Mel Gibson ; and Cast Away, with Tom Hanks.

The makers of the DCAU have used these impressions in their work, having Rosenbaum do his Walken voice for Ghoul in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and his Spacey voice for Deadshot ; coincidentally, Spacey portrayed Lex Luthor in the film Superman Returns, and Walken played Max Shreck in Batman Returns.

John Bigham also left the band to pursue his own career, later founding the band The Soul of John Black ; Bigham was replaced by former Sound Barrier and Mother's Finest guitarist Tracey " Spacey T " Singleton.

* 1986: Broadhurst Theatre ( Broadway ), New York ; with Jack Lemmon ( James ), Bethel Leslie ( Mary ), Kevin Spacey ( Jamie ), Peter Gallagher ( Edmund ), and Jodie Lynne McClintock ( Cathleen ), directed by Jonathan Miller.

** Beyond the Sea-Kevin Spacey ; Phil Ramone ( producer )

As it is, we get a better movie than we might have, because the performances are so good: Spacey as a vulnerable and wounded man ; Hunt as a woman no less wounded in her own way, and Osment, once again proving himself the equal of adult actors in the complexity and depth of his performance.

" Spacey said to Gotham Magazine, " I ’ ve just never believed in pimping my personal life out for publicity.

Janet Maslin in The New York Times said Spacey was at his " wittiest and most agile " to date, and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times singled Spacey out for successfully portraying a man who " does reckless and foolish things who doesn't deceive himself ".

Kevin Jackson of Sight & Sound said Spacey impressed in ways distinct from his previous performances, the most satisfying aspect being his portrayal of " both sap and hero ".

Spacey said he wanted to inject new life into the British theatre industry, and bring British and American theatrical talent to the stage.

Spacey said the cast suffered from " nerves the like of which I've never seen ".

Westlife has performed live duets with some of the biggest names in the music industry including: Sinéad O ' Connor (" Silent Night "), Donny Osmond (" Crazy Horses "), Mariah Carey (" Never Too Far / Hero Medley "), Secret Garden (" You Raise Me Up "), Lionel Richie (" Easy "), Ronan Keating (" The Dance "), Dolores O ' Riordan of The Cranberries (" Little Drummer Boy "), Roy Orbison (" Pretty Woman "), Delta Goodrem (" All Out Of Love "), Raymond Quinn (" That's Life "), Leehom Wang (" You Raise Me Up "), Mary Black (" Walking in the Air "), Kevin Spacey (" Fly Me to the Moon "), Do (" Heaven "), Boyzone (" No Matter What "), Various artists " All-Stars " (" That's What Friends Are For "; " Merry Christmas Everybody "; " I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday "), and even their fathers (" That's Life ").

He has appeared in numerous feature films with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Shirley MacLaine, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey ( K-Pax ), Al Pacino ( People I Know and Denzel Washington ; and with directors Woody Allen ( The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Hollywood Ending ), Mike Nichols ( Wolf and Charlie Wilson's War ), James Ivory ( Surviving Picasso ), Steven Spielberg ( War of the Worlds ), Ido Mizrahy ( Things That Hang from Trees ), Spike Lee ( Inside Man ), and with Clint Eastwood he was Dr. Tarr in Changeling.