Upon winning the Oscar for his performance in 1999’s American Beauty, a story about a suburban “Joe” who rebels against the oppressive shackles of his domesticated existence by leching after a teenage girl, actor Kevin Spacey unveiled before the world the depths whereby his character, Lester Burnham, reflected the turmoil in his soul.
“To my friends, for pointing out my worst qualities. I know you do it because you love me, and that’s why I love playing Lester, because we got to see all of his worst qualities and we still grew to love him,” Spacey said from the stage as his voice trembled on the edge of tears. “This movie to me is about how any single act by any single person put out of context, is damnable.” Echoing the film’s commandment to “Look Closer,” it was here that Spacey then insisted that a shift in perspective could alter the appearance of this damnable act to something immaculate and beautiful, thereby redeeming it: “But the joy of this movie is that it is real beauty, and we found real beauty in this extraordinary script.”
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