It’s amazing how a Kevin Spacey role will be looked at now as way more creepy than it ever was before it became public knowledge of his misconduct. The star has been under such intense fire for his past misdeeds that likely nothing that has received his touch will ever be looked at in the same way again. In fact some roles might be seen as inherently wrong now that people look at them through the altered lens that’s been provided by the alleged facts that have been given. It’s sad in a way that some of the best performances of his career will be forever marred by the mistakes he knowingly made but one thing about this is that people and paranoia tend to go hand in hand and there’s really no way to know what was going through his head during some of the scenes below, or if he was really acting vs. fantasizing in the moment.
It’s too bad, he’s had some really memorable roles.
5. Superman Returns-Lex Luthor
His utter disregard for women, his disrespect for everyone else as being inferior and thinking that they’re there to amuse and serve him made this role unique in its creepiness factor. That was before learning that Spacey was at times kind of a jerk to people outside of his roles onscreen and had been known to act like a world-class pain in the backside to many people.
4. A Bug’s Life-Hopper
Yes it’s a cartoon, but the antenna scene still correlates with real life in a way since Spacey has been accused and could very well be guilty of many acts of harassment and inappropriate touching. Whether he was drunk or not doesn’t matter, that won’t make an act that someone doesn’t want to happen any more welcome. Besides, bug scenes like this are kind of creepy anyway.
3. Swimming with Sharks-Buddy Ackerman
This goes back to him being a jerk and being a supposed sleaze since he’s been accused of both. Spacey has played these roles so well and it’s not much of a wonder why if the rumors are true. Some people onscreen really don’t act, they just play themselves and it’s sold because others think that they couldn’t possibly be this bad. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s how it is sometimes.
2. Se7en-John Doe
This is beyond Buffalo Bill creepy since that guy at least had a personality to draw on. This doesn’t even need anything said about it other than he deadpanned this character so well that you half-expected that he was somehow this way in real life at times. And yet he did show just the slightest bit of emotion when it was necessary, enough to tell that he did have a trigger.
1. American Beauty-Lester Burnham
I still remember the outrage and the uproar that came when this film was released. Granted, Mena Suvari was of legal age, but the premise was just flat out creepy since Lester wanted to get with a high school girl that was the friend of his daughter. If that doesn’t make your skin crawl I’m not sure what would.
Still, it’s regrettable that every role of his will now bear this kind of scrutiny.
