Kevin Spacey
Born: 26 July 1959
Where: South Orange, New Jersey, USA
Cinematic triumphs for the retiring actor include American Beauty, LA Confidential and his unforgettable turn as Verbal in The Usual Suspects.
Spacey is one of that rare breed - a Hollywood A-lister whose private life remains a mystery.
He has always refused to discuss his personal affairs, maintaining that audiences should get to know the characters he plays and nothing more.
He spent a brief spell at military school but was expelled for throwing a tyre at another pupil.
That was followed by high school in the San Fernando Valley (along with Val Kilmer), and then Juilliard, where theatre became his passion.
Spacey made his theatrical debut in 1981 with Shakespeare In The Park, performing alongside Kilmer and John Goodman.
Throughout the Eighties, he was a stage fixture and got his big break whilst auditioning for a Tom Stoppard play.
Spacey's first starring role in a film was as the husband of a murdered woman in the 1992 Consenting Adults.
In 1994, he starred in and co-produced Swimming With Sharks, for which he was nominated an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of an abusive studio executive.
But it was with his performance in The Usual Suspects that Spacey won a best supporting actor Oscar for his work as the garrulous Verbal Kint.
Gruesome thriller Se7en and accomplished cop yarn LA Confidential followed before Spacey was again taking the stage at the Academy Awards.
He garnered a best actor Oscar for his mid-life crisis afflicated dad in Sam Mendes' American Beauty in 1999.
A series of relative disappointments - Ordinary Decent Criminal, Pay It Forward, K-Pax and The Shipping News - followed.
However, he turned in a mesmerising performance as the civil rights activist on death row in Alan Parker's The Life of David Gale.
In 2004 he became artistic director at London's Old Vic theatre, alongside friend Sir Elton John as chairman.
He also realised a lifelong ambition when he starred as Bobby Darin in the biopic Beyond The Sea (which he also directed). Recent work includes the dark drama The United States of Leland as a cynical writer.
