Kevin Spacey Wiki: 5 Facts To Know About 'The Usual Suspects' Actor

Today we bring you the movie actor Kevin Spacey known for the movie The Usual Suspects. Read on for more insight into his life, career path, and net worth.

By Dagmar Thomson
Kevin Spacey Wiki: 5 Facts To Know About 'The Usual Suspects' Actor

Kevin Spacey Wiki: 5 Facts to Know About ‘The Usual Suspects’ Actor

Kevin Spacey is a famous American actor and producer. He is an Academy Award-winning actor and is famous for his appearance in movies and series like American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, House of Cards, Seven, Superman Returns, and L.A. Confidential. Spacey’s acting career has made him an international star and has earned him a generous net worth. His career was booming before it was brought to a standstill by sexual misconduct allegations at the end of 2017.

Spacey’s Early Life and Education

Kevin Spacey was born on July 26, 1959, in South Orange, New Jersey. His birth name is Kevin Spacey Fowler. Spacey’s parents are Thomas Geoffrey Fowler and Kathleen Ann. His father was a technical writer and his mother was a secretary. Spacey is the last born in a family of three children. He has a brother named Randy Fowler and a sister named Julie Ann. Spacey’s family moved to Southern California when he was four years old. He was expelled from all the schools he attended because he was a menace. Spacey first attended Northridge Military Academy. He then went to Canoga Park High School and finally to Chatsworth High School. He graduated from Chatsworth in 1977 as a valedictorian. Spacey’s interest in acting started when he was at Chatsworth High School. He appeared in some of the school’s plays like The Sound of Music. After he finished high school, he started to work as an amateur comedian. This helped Spacey to develop his skill of mimicking celebrities like Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Johnny Carson. In 1979, he attended Julliard School in New York after being advised by Val Kilmer who was a former classmate of his. In 1981, Spacey left Julliard and joined the New York Shakespeare Festival.

Kevin Spacey’s Career as an Actor and Net Worth

2 Days #houseofcards #FU2016

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Kevin Spacey’s acting career started as a stage actor after he joined the New York Shakespeare Festival. His first Broadway appearance was in a play called Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen. Spacey later appeared in other play productions like The Misanthrope, Hurlyburly, and Sleuth. In 1986, he became famous as a stage actor when he acted alongside Jack Lemmon, Bethel Leslie, and Peter Gallagher in Jonathan Miller’s production called Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Spacey then decided to move into movies and television. He had minor roles in the first movies he appeared in like See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Working Girl, The Murder of Mary Phagan, and Glengarry Glen Ross. In 1992, Spacey’s acting skills were recognized when he appeared in a movie called Consenting Adults. Around that time, he appeared in television series like Wiseguy and L.A Law. Spacey’s breaking through in his acting career came when he appeared in a crime thriller movie in 1995 called The Usual Suspects. He acted as a con-man in the movie who was one of the survivors of a fire and massacre. Spacey acted alongside Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, Gabriel Bryne, Pete Postlethwaite, Chazz Palminteri, and Benicio Del Toro in The Usual Suspects. Bryan Singer directed The Usual Suspects and Christopher McQuarrie wrote it. The Usual Suspects made $34.4 million at the box office when it was released. In the same year, Spacey appeared in another movie called Seven. The movie was a huge hit and it made him famous. Spacey acted alongside famous actors like Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and John C. McGinley in Seven. David Fincher directed Seven and Andrew Kevin Walker wrote it. Seven received $327.3 million when it was released at the box office. The movie Seven received a nomination at the 68th Academy Awards for Best Film Editing. In 1997, Kevin Spacey appeared in a crime movie called L.A. Confidential. Curtis Hanson directed, produced, and co-wrote L.A. Confidential. The movie was based on James Ellroy’s third novel of the L.A Quartet series called L.A. Confidential. He acted alongside Russell Crowe, James Cromwell, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, David Strathairn, and Danny DeVito in L.A. Confidential. In 1999, Kevin Spacey appeared in a movie called American Beauty. The director of American Beauty, Sam Mendes, specifically asked Spacey to appear in his movie. His role in American Beauty received many positive reviews and he became a superstar. Spacey acted alongside Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Allison Janney, Mena Suvari, Peter Gallagher, Wes Bentley, and Chris Cooper in American Beauty. American Beauty was a huge hit and it made $356.3 million when it was released at the box office. Then, in 1999, he received his star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. As the new millennium started, Kevin Spacey’s success in his acting career continued. He appeared in movies like The Shipping News (2001), The United States of Leland (2004), Recount (2008), and The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009). In 2011, Spacey appeared in a Chinese movie called Inseparable where he acted alongside Gong Beibi and Daniel Wu. He was the first Hollywood actor ever to appear in a movie that was funded 100% by the Chinese. In July of the same year, Spacey appeared in a black comedy movie called Horrible Bosses. The movie was a hit and it made over $209.6 million at the box office. In 2013, Spacey had a lead role in a political drama television series called House of Cards. The series was based on Michael Dobbs’ novel called House of Cards. The first season of House of Cards was aired on Netflix on February 1st, 2013. He acted alongside Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, and Michael Kelly among others in House of Cards. In the same year, Spacey was an executive producer of a survival thriller movie called Captain Phillips. The movie received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2014, he had a lead role in a video game called Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. In 2016, Spacey appeared in two movies namely Elvis and Nixon, and Nine Lives. In Elvis and Nixon, he acted as President Richard Nixon. In 2017, Spacey was filming a movie called All the Money in the World where he was expected to play as J. Paul Getty who is an American industrialist. However, Christopher Plummer replaced him after allegations of sexual misconduct rose against him. His role in all the movies and series contributed to his net worth.

The Actor’s Major Works and Net Worth

#BookHeaven at Caravan Book Store in #dtla

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Kevin Spacey has appeared in several movies that became major hits. His first major hit was in 1995 in the movie The Usual Suspects that made $34.4 million at the box office. Spacey’s second hit was the movie Seven and it made $327.3 million at the box office. His biggest hit was American Beauty that made $356.3 million at the box office. The movie made him a star and made him receive numerous prestigious awards. The last movie to be a hit for Spacey was Horrible Bosses that made $209.6 million at the box office. The success of the movies also contributed to his net worth.

The Actor’s Awards, Achievements, and Net Worth

In 1996, Kevin Spacey received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance in the movie The Usual Suspects. He also won other awards for his role in the movie like Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor and Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2000, Spacey won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Lester Burnham in the movie American Beauty. He also received other awards for his role in the movie like BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. All his awards and achievements have contributed to his huge net worth.

Kevin Spacey’s Personal Life

Kevin Spacey is a man who loves to keep his personal life out of the public’s eyes. Despite this, rumors have come up concerning his personal life. In 1999, it was rumored that Spacey was romantically involved with Dianne Dreyer who was a script supervisor. In 2000, Dreyer accompanied him to the Academy Awards where he thanked her in his acceptance speech for teaching him how to value certain things in his life. The media, like The Sunday Times Magazine and Esquire magazine, continued to speculate about Spacey’s love life and even reported that he was gay due to the lack of a partner in his life. In an interview with Playboy, he addressed the rumors and speculations where he said that he was not gay and that everyone has a right to keep his or her life private. In October 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexual misconduct. This made him announce that he was gay and that in the past he had relationships with both women and men but he now wanted to live as a gay man. Spacey is one of the patrons of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. The charity gives children all over the UK the chance to act in Shakespeare plays in theatres. He is also one of the members of the board of directors at the Motion Pictures and Television Fund.

Spacey’s Sexual Misconduct Allegations

In October 2017, Anthony Rapp came forward and accused Kevin Spacey of making sexual advances at him in 1986 when Rapp was just 14 years old. Spacey immediately took to social media and said that he did not recall the incidence but he asked for Rapp’s forgiveness for his drunken behavior if he had done as reported. Soon after Rapp’s accusation, fifteen more people came forward each accusing Spacey of sexual misconduct. Some of the fifteen people included journalist Heather Unruh who accused Spacey of sexually assaulting her son, author Ari Behn, filmmaker Tony Montana, actor Roberto Cavazos, Richard Dreyfuss’s son Harry, and eight people who were part of the House of Cards crew. A man who wanted to stay anonymous also came forward and alleged to have been in a relationship with Spacey when he was 14 and Spacey was 24. He stated that Spacey tried to rape him and that is when he ended the relationship. The Guardian also received more information from people who worked at the Old Vic. Spacey had been an artistic director at the Old Vic for 11 years. The information said that he behaved in an inappropriate manner with young men at the workplace. On November 16th, it was confirmed that the Old Vic had gotten more confessions about Spacey’s inappropriate behavior and it had been reported to the police. The allegations against Kevin Spacey made the filming of House of Cards to be suspended. Spacey was then removed from the cast. This made the series to be reduced from 13 episodes to eight episodes, and it was finally canceled. Netflix went ahead and cut off all ties with Spacey. He was set to be honored with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award but the decision was withdrawn by the International Academy of Television Arts and Science. On November of 2017, Spacey announced that he was checking himself into a special treatment in order to receive evaluation and treatment. In the same month, it was announced that his publicist Staci Wolfe and the talent agency Creative Artists Agency were cutting all ties with Spacey. It was also announced that the UK division of the Kevin Spacey Foundation was being closed.

Kevin Spacey’s Role and Views in Politics

It's a shame most of you couldn't be at my hanging tonight #FU2016 #HouseOfCards

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Kevin Spacey is a Democrat and it is known that he is a friend of Bill Clinton. He met with Bill Clinton before he became a president. Spacey also acted in a short movie called President Clinton: Final Days. The movie was a comedy produced by the Clinton Administration and it was played during the White House Correspondents Dinner. Kevin Spacey once met with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 2007. However, he never talked about the meeting to the press. While he was in Venezuela, he donated to the Venezuelan film studio called Villa del Cine. In March 2011, Spacey was part of the protestors who took to the streets to protest against Belarusian President Alexander Lukanshenko’s regime. In 2018, he was accused by Earl Blue, who is the owner of VIP Protective Services, for using racial insults against his African-American staff when they were working on the set of House of Cards.

The Actor’s Body Measurements

Kevin Spacey has light brown eyes and his hair color is brown. His height is 5 feet and 8 inches. Spacey’s body measurements are 40 inches on the chest, 34 inches on the waist, and 14 inches on the biceps. He weighs 189 pounds.

Facts to Know

I bet Boston could beat all of us in a Race to the White House . . . lawn!

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1. Kevin Spacey was kicked out of military school for fighting. He attended Northridge Military Academy where he was expelled for hitting his classmate using a tire. 2. He tried to become a standup comedian. This was after he had finished high school and his effort to become a standup comedian improved his mimicry skills and he proved this at the BAFTA Awards when he imitated Bill Clinton. 3. Spacey’s father was a racist Nazi supporter and was abusive both physically and sexually. His brother, Randy Fowler, revealed this in an interview where he said that their father used to beat them. This made Spacey shut down emotionally, and he became cunning as a way to avoid being beaten. 4. In 1999, Spacey received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He invited his mentor Jack Lemmon and his school drama teacher at the Julliard School to be present at the ceremony. 5. Kevin Spacey was a host twice on Saturday Night Live. The first time was in 1997 when he hosted together with Beck who was a musical guest and with John Cleese and Michael Palin of Monty Python’s Flying Circus who were special guests. The second time was in May 2006, with Nelly Furtado who was a musical guest.

Kevin Spacey’s Net Worth

Kevin Spacey has a net worth of $100 million. This is quite a generous amount but it is understandable because he has been in the television and movie industry since 1981. Spacey has accumulated his net worth from his acting career and the success of movies and series like Seven, American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, and House of Cards. While he was on the cast of House of Cards, Spacey used to receive a salary of $500,000 per episode. This contributed greatly to his net worth. Spacey’s role as a producer has also contributed to his net worth. Kevin Spacey is an actor who has come a long way to become a Hollywood A-list actor. His zeal and determination made him get to where he is. However, Spacey recently received some allegations that have greatly affected his acting career and his viewed personality. It is not yet clear if he will ever be received back in the entertainment industry. However, if it never works out for Spacey, he has a huge net worth that will keep him comfortable and take care of him.

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