An actor whose remarkable versatility has often been described as chameleon-like, Kevin Spacey has made an art of portraying a gallery of morally ambiguous characters ranging from the mildly shady to the all-out murderous. Spacey has won acclaim not only for his film work but also for his television and stage performances. His reputation as one of the best-respected actors of his generation has been verified by an Oscar, a Tony, and an award as Best Actor of the Decade from England's Empire magazine in 1999.

The son of a technical procedure writer and a secretary, Spacey was born in South Orange, NJ, on July 26, 1959. His family moved a great deal thanks to his father's job, eventually settling for a time in Los Angeles. It was there that Spacey — who had previously done a stint at military school — attended Chatsworth High School, where he was very active in the theater. Some of his high school contemporaries included Mare Winningham and Val Kilmer; Spacey was Von Trapp to the former's Maria in a production of The Sound of Music and was encouraged to go to Juilliard by the latter. After an attempt at standup comedy, Spacey did go to Juilliard, where he continued to act with Kilmer, who was two years his senior. His time at Juilliard was cut short after his second year, when Spacey decided to quit school to begin his career.…  » Read more