1990s Kevin Spacey: what a glorious man. His knack for embodying a variety of dark and complex characters earned Spacey a reputation that has since extended into voice acting, stage direction and film production. He reprises his turn as Dave Harken in Horrible Bosses 2, out in UK cinemas this weekend, inspiring us to a look back at his best performances to date. Comment below-the-line and let us know which roles you would choose.
Full disclosure: we couldn’t find a fitting clip of Spacey in LA Confidential, and that hurts.
American Beauty
The maddening mundanity of suburban life served as the backdrop to Spacey’s most critically acclaimed performance as disillusioned and depressed Lester Burnham. Look no further for Lolita complexes, simmering marital contempt and that slow-motion shot of rose petals fluttering from Mena Suvari’s ceiling-height suspended naked body. Spacey scooped up more than 15 awards for the part, including an Oscar, Bafta and two Screen Actors Guild gongs.
Swimming with Sharks
Spacey has said in the past that Horrible Bosses’ Harken and Buddy Ackerman, the hellish movie industry boss he played here, could have been brothers. He cut his teeth on the “cruel and merciless employer” role in George Huang’s 1995 comedy, putting Frank Whaley’s Guy through his paces in a new job, and snarling through crushing putdowns that would drive the average person to a quiet cry in the office loos.
The Usual Suspects
If you don’t already know the answer to question “Who is Keyser Söze?”, we’ll do our best to tiptoe around potential spoilers. Spacey played Roger “Verbal” Kint with a chilling and measured intensity in this 1995 whodunnit thriller, centred on pinning down the location of an elusive and brutal Turkish crime lord. From quoting French poet Charles Baudelaire, in the clip below, to dishing out one of his ultimate big reveals at the end of the film, it stands out as one of his most memorable roles.
Seven
Welcome to classic love-to-hate Spacey, playing a serial killer we only know as John Doe. He works his way through a spate of Biblically themed murders – making time for some fat- and slut-shaming along the way – but only appears onscreen about 90 minutes into the film, alongside Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt’s classic good-cop, bad-cop double act. Pitt’s occasional over-acting aside, Spacey swoops in and steals the show as the film builds to its climax.
Casino Jack
Post-1990s Spacey wasn’t all disappointment (see clangers K-Pax and Pay It Forward). He deserves some credit for his portrayal of corrupt politician Jack Abramoff, in this 2010 biographical satire. If nothing else, we can at least appreciate that the film’s mirror monologues and suited-up politicking prepared him for his interpretation of Frank Underwood in Netflix’s House of Cards series.
