Kevin Spacey might be more popular now than he’s ever been thanks to his fantastic portrayal of the villainous President Frank Underwood on House of Cards. The actor’s had a long career of terrific parts before the Netflix hit, though, jumping seemingly effortlessly from drama to thriller to comedy.
Just like Harrison Ford, Kevin Bacon, John Travolta or any other actor who’s carved out a high-profile acting career, there are a few parts that got away from him. The Oscar-winning actor is celebrating his 56th birthday Sunday, so to mark the occasion here are those roles that Spacey didn’t get the chance to nail.
Man on the Moon (1999)
Jim Carrey was pretty much a shoo-in for the part of late comedian Andy Kaufman, but the role wasn’t given to him on a silver platter. Producers asked Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Hank Azaria, and Edward Norton to all audition for the part, but it was Carrey who not surprisingly had the best Kaufman impression. Nicholas Cage was also reportedly interested in the role, but refused to audition for it.
K-Pax (2001)
Yes, I know that Kevin Spacey was in K-Pax, BUT he was initially supposed to play the astrophysicist played by Jeff Bridges. Spacey was set to act alongside Will Smith playing Prot, but it took nearly half a decade for the cameras to start rolling and in that time Will Smith decided he no longer wanted to play the mental patient/alien. In the end, Spacey expressed that it was the part of Prot that appealed to him all along.
“I really responded to Prot,” adds Spacey. “His story takes notions of insanity and psychiatry and flips them on their ears. Sometimes the person who is the most logical is the person we call insane.”
Chicago (2002)
Kevin Spacey’s got some decent singing chops and John Travolta has the dance moves down. So, it makes sense that both of them would be up for the part of smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn in the film adaptation of the popular musical. It’s not known why exactly producers chose to go with Richard Gere over Kevin Spacey, but considering the movie pulled in a whopping $300 million at the box office, it wasn’t a bad decision.
Kinsey (2004)
Liam Neeson garnered critical accolades and a number of awards for his part as the pioneering sexologist Alfred Kinsey. Before the part was awarded to Neeson, though, it was passed around to Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, and Kevin Spacey, who all turned it down.
The Pink Panther (2006)
For a hot minute, Kevin Spacey’s name was on the table to seize the Inspector Clouseau role made famous by Peter Sellers. After an MGM executive told the press “currently he’s not attached, but we’re in talks with Kevin Spacey” any possibility of the actor taking on the part immediately went up in smoke. Spacey adamantly denied having an interest in the part. “I’m not — never signed, never been offered the role,” The part of the goofy inspector would, of course, go to Steve Martin.
Finally, let’s take a moment to remember what is perhaps Kevin Spacey’s greatest lost role – that of 1970s teen idol.
