He's tired.
Kevin Spacey's had a fine career in and out of Hollywood, his glory crowned by a Best Actor Academy Award for American Beauty.
And now The Usual Suspects actor feels he's done enough.
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'Am I just going to keep making movie after movie and be concerned with all of that 'Are you up, are you down, are you hot, are you not?', and I don't really care,' the actor told London Tonight magazine.
The actor told London Tonight he loved his role as artistic director of London's Old Vic theatre, a position he has held since 2003.
'I don't care about my personal acting career any more. I'm done with it,' Spacey added. 'After 10 years of making movies and going better than I ever could have imagined, I sort of had to ask myself: What am I supposed to do with all of this success that I have had? What I care about is working with people, what I care about is the remarkable experience of being able to be a part of bringing people together.'
By Hollywood standards, it's a peculiar decision. Spacey is a talented, bankable international star, and it's very rare for an actor to slide off the screen of their own accord, giving it all up. In this case, the call of the theatre seems irresistible.
Spacey is a regular at the Old Vic productions, winning much acclaim for his Richard II. According to The Times, Spacey is also slated to play the lead in David Mamet's production of Speed-the-Plow, and continue working on Shakespeare with Sam Mendes' versions of The Tempest and Hamlet. Victorian mystery Gaslight and a Cinderella pantomime, written by Stephen Fry, also await the actor.
Hollywood's loss is indeed theatre's gain.
Photograph: Getty Images
