We take a look at 10 things you might not have known about Kevin Spacey.
Updated: January 25, 2015, 12:00 AM
10 fun facts about Kevin Spacey - in pictures
He also won an Oscar. Kevin Spacey won a best supporting actor Academy Award for his work portraying the limping criminal Verbal Kint in 1995’s The Usual Suspects. Courtesy MGM Studios
He’s about to play Nixon. Spacey has just wrapped filming his part of Richard Nixon in Liza Johnson’s film Elvis & Nixon. The movie, which is still in production, also stars Colin Hanks, Michael Shannon and Tracy Letts. AFP PHOTO / HO
Sherlock Holmes got him into acting. During a trip to London when he was 10 years old and after seeing a production of Sherlock Holmes, the actor made a bold decision. “I thought it was incredible, the funniest thing I’d ever seen! That’s when I knew what I wanted to do for a living.” iStock
He deserved that Golden Globe Award. The actor’s portrayal of the scheming politician Frank Underwood on the Netflix series House of Cards is chilling to the bone. In accepting Spacey assumed his character briefly, saying “this is just the beginning of my revenge”. He later tweeted a picture of his award, writing: “Here is a pic I thought I’d never take. What a night! Thanks to all for your congrats!” Spacey’s Trigger Street Productions produces the show. Kevin Winter / Getty Images / AFP
He pays it forward and gives back. Kevin Spacey set up his Kevin Spacey Foundation in the UK in 2010 and the US in 2013. It is geared towards nurturing budding actors through workshops, education, grants and scholarships. It’s this work that brought him to Sharjah, in partnership with the Middle East Theatre Academy. Courtesy META
His smirk was arguably the best thing about the Ellen Oscar Selfie. AP Photo
He really likes the UAE “I’m here quite often, just not publicly,” he told us. “I’m in a lot of places where people don’t know I am. I don’t like to announce that I’m coming and I don’t do a lot of interviews, but I’m always about.” Pawan Singh / The National
His mentor was the late actor, Jack Lemmon, who had an unconventional birth. “He had this wonderful philosophy - which I only learned about when we later became colleagues and he became a mentor and father figure - he believed you should ‘always send the elevator back down’,” Spacey told us. “I think to some degree because Jack Lemmon was also born in an elevator.” NEW LINE
He has fun famous friends. Spacey appeared in the 2010 film The Father of Invention with the Full House actor John Stamos (Uncle Jesse). The pair have stayed friends, tweeting each other and hanging out in real life. Earlier this month Stamos posted a picture of them hanging out on a rooftop with the caption “Full House of Cards #RejectedTVNames” Courtesy Horizon Entertainment