Esquire, January 1996
THE BAD KEVIN : OUR KIND OF GUY
While movie audiences were still scratching their heads over archcriminal Keyser Soze in the critically embraced thriller 'The Usual Suspects', his portrayer Kevin Spacey (hmmm, same initials), had already begun serial-butchering his victims in the top-grossing chiller 'Seven'. (Oops, hope that didn't spoil it for you.) This sinister aspect of his career is relatively new, as is his film career in general. "I've only been doing movies since 1986 and only playing significant roles since 'Glengary Glen Ross' in 1992," he says. The creepy turn began early last year with the release of 'Swimming with Sharks', in which he starred as an imperious, sarcastic, and cruel Hollywood exec. "People think of me only as bad guy now. They didn't see me in 'The Ref' or 'Iron Will'." No, they didn't.
Spacey came to Hollywood from the New York stage, where he worked in Shakespeare, Chekhov, and O'Neill. What makes him so menacing as a villian is his Joe Normal image. Unlike Kevin Bacon, Costner, and Dillon, Spacey is no matinee idol; it's not implausible that an Ed Gein lurks beneath that natty suit. This year, amid rumors that he's giving up acting altogether, he'll return to Broadway, producing and starring in 'National Anthems'. He'll also be finishing up post-production on 'Albino Alligator', the Matt Dillon - Faye Dunaway film that marks his debut as a director. Sadly, he says he's "reached the point where I've gone as far as I can go with the dark side. At least for awhile." While he's in Los Angeles, the thirty-six-year-old New York bachelor lives in a hotel or rents a house with his constant companion, a black Labrador named Legacy. "He's got the car today," Spacey says rather cooly, "He had some errands."
-Stephen Saban
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