Moved to Southern California with family

Began performing stand-up comedy while still in high school

Performed one-man comedy show wherein he displayed a gift for impressions

Auditioned for "The Gong Show" with a comedy routine; was rejected

Worked for Joseph Papp in the Xerox room of the New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF)

New York stage debut as a soldier in New York Shakespeare Festival's "Henry VI, Part I"

"Fired" from job at NYSF by Papp in effort to encourage him to pursue an acting career

Broadway debut in a production of Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" opposite Liv Ullmann

Appeared with numerous regional and repertory companies (i.e., Kennedy Center, American National Theatre, Seattle Rep)

Auditioned for the national tour of "The Real Thing"; director Mike Nichols instead suggested auditioning for "Hurlyburly"

Acted in the Broadway production of "Hurlyburly"; originally hired as understudy for role of Phil, played by Harvey Keitel; later understudied roles of Mickey and Eddie

Film debut in the Nichols directed, "Heartburn" playing a subway thief who mugs Meryl Streep's character

First collaborations with Jack Lemmon and Peter Gallagher, the stage revival of "Long Day's Journey Into Night"

TV acting debut in a guest role on the CBS series "The Equalizer"

Recreated stage role for the Showtime adaptation of "Long Day's Journey Into Night"

Had featured role in the NBC miniseries "The Murder of Mary Phagan" starring Gallagher and Lemmon

Played Lemmon's son-in-law in the feature "Dad"

Portrayed televangelist Jim Bakker to Bernadette Peters' Tammy Faye in the NBC biopic "Fall From Grace"

Garnered accolades for his supporting role as a gangster wannabe in Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"

Producing debut, "Swimming With Sharks"; also co-starred as a ruthless Hollywood executive

Breakthrough screen role in Bryan Singer's "The Usual Suspects"

Directorial debut, "Albino Alligator" (released theatrically in 1997)

Had strong featured role as a cop in "L.A. Confidential"

Played accused murderer Jim Williams in the film version of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

Formed Trigger Street Productions

Headlined a London stage production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"; reprised role on Broadway in 1999

Garnered critical acclaim and his second Oscar as married man undergoing a mid-life crisis in "American Beauty"

Received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (October 5)

Produced (also co-starred) "The Big Kahuna"; released theatrically in 2000

Agreed to serve as a consultant to London's Old Vic Productions

Co-starred with Helen Hunt in "Pay It Forward"

Starred as a mental patient convinced he's from another planet in "K-Pax"

Had lead in film version of the award-winning novel "The Shipping News"

Cameoed as himself playing a Hollywood version of Dr Evil in "Austin Powers: Goldmember"

Launched the website Triggerstreet.com, an online community where aspiring filmamkers could get their ideas to Hollywood power brokers

Played an anti-capital punishment advocate accused of murder in "The Life of David Gale"

Produced (also had supporting role) the independent film "United States of Leland"

Named artistic director of London's historic Old Vic Theater

Helmed "Beyond the Sea," a biopic of singer Bobby Darren, which took Spacey five years to bring to the big screen; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Lead Actor and a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack

Appeared on the London stage in the title role of Shakespeare's "Richard II" directed by Trevor Nunn

Cast as the villainous Lex Luthor in Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns"

Co-starred with Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti in the comedy about Santa's disgruntled older brother, "Fred Claus"

Cast as an MIT lecturer in the film "21" along with Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne

Joined Jeff Goldblum in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" at London's Old Vic theater

Portrayed Ron Klain, the General Counsel to Al Gore's recount committee in the HBO film, "Recount"; also produced; earned an Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV-Movie