“I’m not married and I won't talk about my private life, so it must mean I'm gay.” —Spacey*

There is little that isn’t public knowledge about the career of Kevin Spacey, an overwhelmingly popular, talented, enigmatic, and enduring method actor. As to his private life, I, for one, respect and appreciate the lack of [public] dirty laundry.

Born in 1959 in New Jersey, Spacey first found success on a theater stage, with his portrayal of Uncle Louie in the Broadway hit “Lost in Yonkers” winning the 1991 Tony Award. The beginning of Spacey’s film career was relatively modest and limited to supporting roles — until, of course, his appearances in “Glengarry Glen Ross” (1992) and “The Usual Suspects” (1995). The latter not only garnered Spacey a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, it also made him one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood.

After that, assignments came fast and furious, with these films making my “must see” list: “The Ref” (1994), which was Spacey’s first top-billed role alongside Denis Leary and Judy Davis; “Se7en” (1995), an eerie, edge-of-your-seat thriller for which Spacey refused billing in order to prevent a spoiler before the film’s release; “A Time To Kill” (1996), a volatile tale of rape, murder, and racism in the deep American South; “L.A. Confidential” (1997), an adaptation of James Ellroy’s best-selling crime drama; “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (1997), another crime drama where Spacey plays a small Southern town’s closeted power-that-be and the main murder suspect; “Hurlyburly” (1998), a black comedy about a morally bankrupt group of friends; the critically acclaimed suburban satire “American Beauty” (1999); and “K-PAX” (2001), a charming comedy/drama about a mental patient who claims to hail from another planet.

In the same year as Spacey received the Best Actor Oscar for his turn as a middle-aged middle-American in the throws of a mid-life crisis in “American Beauty,” he also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Spacey’s latest is “The Life of David Gale,” scheduled for release in February 2003. Also starring Kate Winslet and Laura Linney, this film tells a story of a professor who, while crusading against capital punishment, is convicted of rape and murder and sent to death row.