Claim: Kevin Spacey worked in comedy.

Kevin Spacey Fowler , KBE -LRB- born July 26 , 1959 -RRB- , better known as Kevin Spacey , is an American actor , film director , producer , screenwriter , and singer . He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s before obtaining supporting roles in film and television . He gained critical acclaim in the early 1990s that culminated in his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the neo-noir crime thriller The Usual Suspects -LRB- 1995 -RRB- , and an Academy Award for Best Actor for midlife crisis-themed drama American Beauty -LRB- 1999 -RRB- .   His other starring roles have included the comedy-drama film Swimming with Sharks -LRB- 1994 -RRB- , psychological thriller Seven -LRB- 1995 -RRB- , the neo-noir crime film L.A. Confidential -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , the drama Pay It Forward -LRB- 2000 -RRB- , the science fiction-mystery film K-PAX -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , and the role of Lex Luthor in the superhero film Superman Returns -LRB- 2006 -RRB- .   In Broadway theatre , Spacey won a Tony Award for his role in Lost in Yonkers . He was the artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London from 2004 until stepping down in mid-2015 . Since 2013 , Spacey has played Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards . For his role as Underwood , he has won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor -- Television Series Drama and two consecutive Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series .