Spotlight On: Kevin Spacey

Though Kevin Spacey has been making waves on Netflix lately, he's returning to the big screen in the comedy Horrible Bosses 2. We're tracing the talented actor's career from early films like Se7en and The Usual Suspects to the Hollywood superstar he is today.

Writer David Mamet adapted his own Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play for this highly regarded drama about foul-mouthed, ruthless real estate salesmen. Spacey held his own alongside a very impressive cast that included Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, and Martin Landau.

Though he didn't appear in the flesh until the climax of this dark crime drama, Spacey left quite an impression as a murderer who uses the Seven Deadly Sins as inspiration in his killing spree.

In another highly regarded 1995 crime drama he played unassuming criminal Verbal Kint, who is called in for police questioning about the shadowy mastermind known as Keyser Soze. The role earned Spacey his first Academy Award.

Spacey switched from criminal to cop when he starred in this neo-noir adapted from the James Ellroy novel. 'L.A. Confidential' explored the clash between celebrity and corruption in 1950's Hollywood, and is widely considered one of the best films of the 1990's.

Spacey solidified his reputation as one of Hollywood's most talented leading men when he starred in this drama about a suburban father who experiences a dramatic midlife crisis. He won another Academy Award for his performance.

This adaptation of the Annie Proulx novel cast Spacey as a troubled father who moves with his daughter to his family home in Newfoundland. Though reviews were mixed, the strong cast (Judi Dench, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite) bolstered the film.

Spacey tackled a distinctly different type of character when he played a psychiatric patient who claimed to be an alien from the titular planet. Spacey's dynamic with costar Jeff Bridges is a highlight.

Spacey was a jack-of-all-trades in this biopic about actor/singer Bobby Darin. He cowrote, directed and starred in the film, even relying on his own singing voice to bring Darin to life.

Every Hollywood star needs at least one superhero film in their resume. Spacey covered the bases by playing one of the most iconic supervillains ever. His Lex Luthor was closely modeled on the version popularized by Gene Hackman in the 1970s.

Spacey exercised his ruthless side in this heist film loosely based on a true story. He played an MIT professor who schools several gifted students in the dangerous art of counting cards.

Spacey's pleasant voice brought the robotic helper Gerty to life in this sci-fi film. The character was a distinct relative of 2001's AI system HAL 9000, albeit friendly and sympathetic rather than scary.

Spacey was a real crowd-pleaser in this black comedy about three men buckling under workplace pressure. Spacey played one of the bosses in question, a psychopath who dangles a promotion over his employee's head for months and screws him over in the end.

Speaking of horrible bosses, Spacey played one two decades ago as Hollywood studio exec Buddy Ackerman, who mentally tortures his assistant so terribly that his assistant ends up torturing HIM – literally.