Spacey's still an actual leading man
Kevin Spacey's still an actual leading man
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Thursday, 15, Oct 2009 06:30
Kevin Spacey's onscreen presence might have dimmed in recent years as he concentrates on helping to revive the London theatre scene but allude to retirement at your peril, members of the press learnt today.
By Lewis Bazley.
Spacey was speaking at a London press conference following the UK premiere of his new film The Men Who Stare At Goats, a satire based on Jon Ronson's hit non-fiction book of the same name.
While Ewan McGregor and George Clooney lead the cast as a journalist looks to unravel the truth behind a secretive 'psychic' unit of the US military, Spacey is in superb form, stealing every scene in which he appears as the villainous Special Ops agent Larry Hooper.
Click here for the inthenews.co.uk review of The Men Who Stare At Goats
In response to a question about the cast's own opinions on the supernatural, Spacey laughed that working with Clooney was the "most paranormal" experience of his career.
The Oscar winner, stern and eloquent throughout the press conference, had a less good-humoured response to an enquiry about an apparent absence from the screen while serving as artistic director of London's Old Vic theatre.
"I did three movies last year, two movies the year before and two movies the year before that, I don't know what this break is you're talking about!" he retorted, a scowl flashing across his face when the journalist explained she had been referring to "actual lead roles".
"An actual lead? No, I don't do those anymore," he replied, adding: "I've just completed two films in which I'm the actual lead."
Spacey's upcoming projects include Casino Jack, regarding the Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a comedy entitled Father of Invention, also featuring Heather Graham and Virginia Madsen.
The 50-year-old's barely disguised ire cooled, however, as he admitted to concentrating on his role at the Old Vic for the company's past six seasons, during which time the likes of Jeff Goldblum, David Suchet and Richard Dreyfuss have trod the boards in London.
"My priority for the next six years will continue to be the Old Vic," he added, "and I'll make films when they both suit my schedule and suit what interests me."
What remains firmly out of Spacey's sphere of interests, it seems, is the media's obsession with celebrity. The trend was highlighted this week when it emerged the maker of a documentary screening at the London Film Festival had filmed tabloid journalists considering the purchase of what were purported to be public figures' private medical records.
"I don't get it," Spacey told the assembled press in no uncertain terms. "I don't understand the notion of people who might call themselves journalists who would just make up stuff.
"I don't understand it as a function of a human being. I don't know why that's of interest to someone, to write something that's absolutely false in the hopes that 1,800 outlets will print it."
He added, sadly: "We live in a time... where if you even bother to say 'That story has no truth to it', [the tabloids] don't write that the story's false, they write that you 'denied' the story was true. Which is not the same thing as saying 'What we wrote was absolutely wrong'.
"There's some people who choose to fight these things in the court and there are some people who say 'You know what? It's yesterday's news, it's fish wrapping and I'm not going to worry about it'."