"Former shoe salesman now making a go at film and theater. Wish me luck...". So reads the bio on Kevin Spacey's Twitter profile. Safe to say, he must be doing okay at one of them at least.
Whether his 3.6 million followers associate Spacey more with stage or screen will depend on their own viewing habits. Oscar and Olivier award-winning in the same year (1999) for Sam Mendes's film American Beauty and The Iceman Cometh at London's Old Vic, Spacey has conquered both mediums. Oh, and then there's the TV. As Frank Underwood in the hit Netflix series, House of Cards, the 54-year-old is leading the charge of the on-demand trend.
Born in New Jersey but an honorary Londoner since 2003, when he became artistic director of the Old Vic theatre, Spacey will pass that baton to successor Matthew Warchus in autumn 2015, but not before releasing a new documentary. Now: In the Wings on a World Stage followed Spacey and Mendes as they reunited to tour Shakespeare's Richard III around the globe with the transatlantic Bridge Project.
Spacey was online to answer your questions about his small screen, big screen and stage career. Here are his replies:
Bluebaby asks:
What do you feel has been your biggest achievement as Artistic Director of the Old Vic, and do you have a particular favourite production (I enjoyed the work of The Bridge Project very much, especially Richard III).
ID3875335 asks about his stage beginnings:
After your ten years at the Old Vic, no-one will ever again imagine that it could be closed or turned into a lap-dancing club as was once suggested! So THANK YOU very much indeed for all the work you've done to ensure the theatre's future. What was the first play you saw there as a member of the audience? Did you ever see Olivier on that stage? And how conscious have you been of the presence of your great predecessors in the building while you've been working on the Old Vic stage yourself?
Guardian contributor I don’t remember what my first play was as I was very young. I did see once a play that Olivier directed. It was a play with Frank Finlay and Joan Plowright. I was a Juilliard student at the time. I met him in a hallway. I was very nervous.
Will Papa Lazarou Spence asks:
How long does it usually take you to prepare for a role on stage, and what has been the most difficult of your stage roles to prepare for?
Guardian contributor If there is one things I object to it’s actors talking about how tough their jobs are. My job is a joy and I feel a little bit like Clarence Darrow who said "When I was nine years old, my father put me to work hoeing potatoes . Then I went into law and I’ve not done a day’s work since." If I hear one more actor saying "I had to prepare physically for the role" I want to hit them.
kevindfisher asks:
Mr Spacey: Would you ever consider running for President of the United States? I would vote for you. Sincerely, KDF
Guardian contributor Fundamentally I like to accomplish things. I would find politics very frustrating for that reason and like Frank Underwood I would probably end up killing a lot of people.
Sarah Grant on Shakespeare:
First of all, I went to see you on your first night doing Clarence Darrow and it was amazing!! I'll be gutted to see you leave the Old Vic. My question is how would you encourage & engage teenagers in Shakespeare? I teach Richard III, and have done since I saw it at the Old Vic, and frankly, a lot of 14 year olds would rather remove their eyes with a rusty spoon than even look at Shakespeare. P.s. they were very impressed at you hanging by your feet at the end.
Guardian contributor It’s not difficult. Take the thing that makes Shakespeare scary - the language - but it’s not so difficult. When you approach the plays from a perspective of how people deal with each other, people dig that. It’s just like family. I’ve watched kids of 14 - 15 getting really excited about how relevant the plays can be to their own lives. Don’t put him on a big pedestal - he’s just a playwright - attack him with an excitement about what his plays are about. Don’t dust him off like an antique.
McStep posts a sports-related question:
Why am I up this early on a Saturday morning? It's perverse. But then I am tremendously excited about the Aviva Premiership final later, for which I have tickets. Saints vs Saracens Kevin, a grand occasion. Are you a fan of rugby? Highly recommend it, so much better than wendyball. I believe it's known you're very fond of the tennis, are sports in general a significant part of your life?
Guardian contributor I don't watch rugby. But tennis! Murray is playing today at three. I want to be there. God I wish I could go.
flutterby asks about his thoughts on Englishness:
As a (sometime) immigrant, how did you find life here compared to the States? What do you feel are the main characteristics of 'Englishness'? What do/did you like or dislike about living here (or do you feel London has an identity in itself, separate from the rest of the UK)?
Guardian contributor Well it's always a very different experience to hop on a car or a train and go two or three hours out of London. Something about getting close to nature. I like being able to go to a local pub and have great food and particularly love pubs that welcome my dogs. I have a dog I got at the Battersea Dogs Home - Minnie - and now I have a year old dog called Boston. He's 89 pounds and owns the house. And yes, I'd say there are things that are quintessentially English to me. It's been interesting to come as an American with that perspective but also to embrace things here and be British in my own way. Both my parents considered themselves Anglophiles and so it was part of my makeup.
PresterTom asks about... bananas:
Hi Kevin,
In K-PAX you take a bite out of a banana with the skin on. How makes takes did you have to do to not spit it out immediately?
Guardian contributor I ate 17 bananas. I was on a potassium high for a day and a half...
kimonoko asks about House of Cards:
Hello Mr. Spacey!
As a performer, do you enjoy breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience in House of Cards? It's a fairly uncommon conceit in television, although I know it has a significant place in theater.
And how do you feel about the constant metaphors Frank Underwood and the other characters use to describe their predicaments (both political and personal)? It's a running theme in the show, and I was just wondering if it had any significance to you.
Thanks for answering our questions!
Guardian contributor Certainly doing Richard III where direct address was invented was incredibly informative in how to approach it in House of Cards. In Richard III I'm looking at audience, in TV down the barrel of a lens. But it was that memory that aided me for House of Cards. At a theatrical device, it's a remarkable idea that a character will break the fourth wall. The audience become their co-conspirators. They provide a chance for the audience to root for and be terrified by the character at the same time.
And here's Kevin, kindly posing for us:
Ifnotthatthenwhat asks:
If we hadn't had Shakespeare, who might we have elevated into that space ?
Guardian contributor It’s extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare. And in any case he’s lasted 400 years. But a nice hypothetical I guess.
furiouspurpose wonders about the Frank Underwood character:
Kevin - the Underwood character in House of Cards... is he a patriot and does he want what's best for ordinary people, or is he entirely cynical?
Guardian contributor I avoid any judgements about the people I play. It’s my job just to play them.
mogeezer asks:
As an accomplished and respected actor have you ever gotten star struck when working or even meeting other fellow actors?
Guardian contributor I remember meeting the likes of Johnny Carson and Jimmy Stewart for the first time and being completely starstruck. I said to Jimmy, "You're one of the greatest actors ever ... You’re probably sick of hearing that." And he said, "I’m not sick of hearing it. Say it again!"
gunadeasalainn confesses to having binge-watched House of Cards (who hasn't) and asks about music:
Hello Kevin. I shouldn't admit to this but I recently watched all 26 episodes of House of Cards in one week. I blame you for my resulting square eyes but it was entirely worth it ;-) Anyway, my question is about music. Having enjoyed your singing in Beyond the Sea, I wondered if you have any plans for a role in a musical in the future, either on stage or screen?
Guardian contributor I’m going to do more music for sure - if a musical comes along worth tackling, I would certainly consider it. Music has always been a big part of my life. I've been doing concerts for a few months now. I did one in Miami and another in China. I have a big 40 piece orchestra, the full nine yards. I’m singing my guts out doing all kinds of different material. We've added a few new songs into the set along with the old standards. I do Billy Joel. We Didn’t Start The Fire. Not an easy song at all.
mbrecker asks:
Who do you think is more obsessed with celebrities? The American public or the British?
Guardian contributor I don’t want to answer a question with that word in it. Celebrity. It’s a disgusting word.
ID3051408 asks about books:
What's your favourite book for reading and what book would be top of the list for you to bring to the screen one day? Why?
Have you ever thought about playing in costume dramas? I would love to see you in a Dickens adaptation!
Guardian contributor That's a bit like asking what's your favorite film. It changes all the time. Also I don’t want to sounds pretentious. I’ve read a lot of books! But I have to say that right now I am immersed in the letters of Clarence Darrow, which we have worked into the production at the Old Vic. I'm knee deep into those letters - they've finally been collected into a really nice edition.
sueashdown asks about London:
Hi Kevin, firstly (more praise), loved House of Cards which we binge-watched, sometimes 4 eps at a time.
Coming to see you at the Old Vic next Thursday. Thanks for looking after the Old Vic, my Grandad worked there shifting scenery in the 1940s, as well as selling veg as a barrow boy on a stall in the Lower Marsh - how that (your) area has changed since then! No groovy vintage shops nor wine bars with mopeds in then, just old man pubs with etched glass and pianos. My Grandad knew the one in Lower Marsh intimately. My question is what have you most liked about being a Londoner? Thanks xxxx
Guardian contributor Thanks for the question. It’s very hard to divorce anything I've done over the last few years in London without it being attached to the Old Vic. It’s been incredible to be in London at a time when it’s developed into the cultural centre, not just of Europe but arguably the world. The amount of things there are to do, not just in the city, but across the country! The affection and love and money that is paid to arts and culture and to music and books is just incredible. But yes, London is an extraordinary place. You can go out any night on any given day and find a wealth of things to experience. I’ve loved both being a part of it and being around it. London is a very energising place to be. But in any case, I'm not going anywhere! I’m not moving away.
Steff Clarke asks:
Who are your top 3 all time favourite Kevins?
Guardian contributor My favourite Kevins are the ones I'm constantly mistaken for. I was in a bar in Boston with these policemen - it was one year on from the marathon bombing. This girl sidled up and said, “Oh my god, it’s you ... Kevin Bacon!” And all of us, went, AAAARRRRGH. How brilliant is that? I get Kevin Bacon, I get Kevin Costner. My favourite thing is people congratulating me on movies I wasn’t even in. “You were so good in Reservoir Dogs!” They walk away and I wonder: who am I supposed to be? Am I Steve Buscemi? Am I Harvey Keitel? I’ll be anyone they want me to be.
Guardian contributor The best time was when I was in a piano bar. Some guy was absolutely convinced that I was that musician ... what’s his name? The guy in Genesis? Phil Collins! To the point that I even put on a British accent and signed a napkin as him.
PoliticalMeercat asks about his plans:
Simple question I suppose. I would hope he'd appreciate a simple question: What is next for Kevin Spacey?
Guardian contributor House of Cards takes six months of the year. At the moment it’s enough for me to be doing that and a few concerts. Other than that, I'm busy with the work of my foundation which is focused on using theater and film as an education tool. People are assuming Clarence Darrow is my last play at the Old Vic. It's not. The exciting part is that I don’t really know what's coming next.
Susan Pilcher asks:
Hi Kevin
Is there a film or play that you would now like to re-visit that you played in earlier in your career, be it in the same or another role, now that you have greater wealth of experience and knowledge?
Also do you think that programs such as NT Live is a good way of encouraging young people to get involved in theatre initially and then them making that first step inside the theatre and getting totally hooked like myself?
Looking forward to seeing both NOW and Darrow next week.
Guardian contributor Clarence Darrow is a rare and unusual circumstance where I’ve played a character more than one time - a version of him in Inherit The Wind, and about 20 years ago, I was in a PBS film about Darrow which I made with John Coles, who directs on House of Cards. It’s nice to lumber round in Darrow's ideas again after all this time.
valuigi says:
'Looking for Richard' was a wonderful film, did you learn anything from Pacino's analysis or performance of Richard III that you would later incorporate into your own portrayal? And would you ever consider doing a similar type of film looking in depth at another Shakespeare play?
Guardian contributor We have made that film: Now: In the Wings on a World Stage, about our Richard III. It felt as though there weren’t that many opportunities to see what it’s really like to be in a company of actors. There’s not been anything as intimate and behind the scenes, but also on this scale. It’s a unique portrait of a company of actors travelling around the world doing Shakespeare in all these cities and in front of all these audiences. It felt like the perfect chance to capture something, to bring people into it. We worked hard to make it a movie for people who dig theater and for people who don’t.
And that's all for today. Thanks very much to everyone who submitted questions, and to Kevin for taking the time to answer as many as he could.
• This article was amended on 4 June. Spacey was born in New Jersey, not in California, as originally stated.
• Now: In the Wings on a World Stage premieres in UK cinemas on 9 June, followed by a live Q&A with Kevin Spacey. For more information, and to download the film from 10 June, visit www.nowthefilm.com.
When I started out, my goal was that whatever we did the work that we would create would continue long after I was gone. For me the greatest achievement is that Matthew Warchus has just been announced as my successor and so that it’s going to continue for years to come.