Quite the rebel
After starring as Captain Von Trappe in the Sound of Music, young Kevin brushed up on his Johnny Carson impressions and planned to hit the comedy circuit. He didn't did - but they did come in very handy for his appearance on Parkinson in 2002 - when he 'did' Jack Lemmon, Bill Clinton, Judi Dench, Katharine Hepburn, Al Pacino, Ian McKellen, Peter O'Toole and James Stewart.

Today, Kevin says he's willing to explore his dark side. But it's nothing new! As a teen, Kevin was packed off to the Northridge Military Academy following an incident involving a fire at his sister's tree house. Needless to say, naughty Kevin didn't take to the strict discipline inside and was expelled shortly after his arrival for hitting another student on the head with a tire.

From bored to Broadway
After leaving Los Angeles Valley College, Kevin Spacey spent two years studying drama at Juilliard but quit before getting his degree to join the New York Shakespeare Festival. Slowly but surely in just ten years he made it from messenger boy in Henry VI in 1981 to winning a Tony Award for his performance as Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's Broadway hit 'Lost in Yonkers'. By 1998 he gained rave reviews for his part in 'The Iceman Cometh' at the Almeida Theatre in London and just 4 years later took over as artistic director at London's Old Vic.

Oscar, Oscar
Immediately tagged as a character actor, Spacey excelled at playing the evil and twisted. In 1992 he starred as a sinister office boss in Glengarry Glen Ross, then he stepped into a sadistic Hollywood exec's shoes in Swimming with Sharks and, of course, the shady and unnerving Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects which earned him his first Oscar. After more evil plotting in Se7en in 1995 and an acclaimed performance as the slick detective Jack Vincennes in L.A. Confidential, Spacey became something of a national hero in 1999 thanks to his portrayal of frustrated suburban husband: Lester Burnham, in American Beauty.

Very Private Property
In a 1998 interview with the London Evening Standard Kevin Spacey explained why he wasn't keen to share details of his private life: "It's not that I want to create some bullshit mystique by maintaining a silence about my personal life, it is just that the less you know about me, the easier it is to convince you that I am that character on screen. It allows an audience to come into a movie theatre and believe I am that person."

That dog-walking incident
Perhaps because the media has so little juicy information about Kevin, a frenzy erupted, when in April 2004 he was allegedly mugged when walking his dog nearby his home in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in the early hours. Mr Spacey later admitted to being tricked out of his mobile phone and then tripping over and injuring himself in pursuit. Several things are for sure: he is one phone short, he was treated for head injuries but one question still remains: why was he walking his dog at 4am?
For the full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3638321.stm

Did you know?

Kevin quit college to join Juilliard on the advice of his ex-classmate Val Kilmer.

He only earned £225/week for his role in "The Iceman Cometh" in London.

Empire Magazine voted him greatest actor of the decade in 1999.

He toasted Keyser Soze in his first Oscar acceptance speech.

His labrador's name is Legacy.

He drives a Mini-Cooper.

Kevin attended the Labour Party Conference with his friend Bill Clinton in 2002.