When The Life of David Gale comes out on DVD, the back of the box will probably read something like this: "Academy Award™ winner Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, American Beauty) stars as David Gale, an anti-death penalty activist who is on death row with only days left before his execution. Kate Winslet (Titanic) sits down to interview him and finds out that Gale might not only be innocent, but he could also have been framed." Street sat down with Spacey last month and talked about his new film and his acting career. What should the audience take away from the film? How do you personally feel about the death penalty? I'm very reluctant to pontificate about what I think an audience should take away. It's always good when a movie can do that. It can begin to help people having a place from which to start. Because I think the issue -- I don't want the issue to overshadow the movie; we think the film has great entertainment value -- is very uncomfortable for people. You'll hear people talk about it passionately... but generally you find that people don't really know about the facts about the death penalty... one thing that everybody seems to agree on is that the system has a lot of flaws in it. When did you know you wanted to be an actor? I think the first time I performed in a drama class and I heard applause, I remember a light bulb went off over my head and I thought, "That's the coolest sound I've ever heard." Why did you go to Africa? I wanted to go primarily to learn, and I did. There were a lot of things that I didn't get to do... but when you're travelling with the President [Clinton] you sort of have to hit the ground running. Every country we went to we'd meet with their President and their Minister of Health and they'd have really good plans about what they're doing to be able to accept help. What is your criteria for selecting a film? Will this movie have a decent chance of standing the test of time. I like the movies that I like to watch more than once. Sometimes it works out this way, sometimes it doesn't -- if you ain't in the producerial role, you ain't got no power. Are you happy in the previous roles you've selected? Yes. I always like it when I get questions from fans that are like, "In this film you play a deeply flawed character." I'm like, "As opposed to every other human being in the rest of the world." There's this thing in a lot of movies where there are heroes who don't seem to really have many problems... I always feel like I've gotten close to doing my job when people say the character's name instead of my own. What was it like for your acting career after receiving so much acclaim for American Beauty? Particularly after a film like American Beauty -- which just had such remarkable highs for everyone involved in it -- after a film like that you have to accept the fact that almost everything you do after it, at least for a while, is going to be a disappointment. And if you sort of embrace that, then it'll be OK. Do you feel that your film will spark debate, in light of the recent commuting of all death sentences in Illinois? It's just a movie. Let's not forget that. We wanted it to be interesting, but it is just a film... I have no idea whether the movie is going to spark debate. Maybe it's easier to talk about an issue in the context of a drama that's fictionalized. It's just coincidental that all of this has risen in the last month or so. Do you think actors should use their celebrity in a good way? I think I had a couple of really remarkable teachers and mentors... I heard Jack Lemmon say a lot that "If you're lucky enough to have done well, then it's your responsibility to send the elevator back down." And that's such a great line. Charles Barkley the other day accused me of stealing it from him. So I told him, "Your elevator is much bigger than mine." What's the most important advice you can give to young actors? The most important thing is: follow your heart. All the things you can't control -- you can't control, so why worry about them? Just get as much as you can. If you're a writer, write because you love to write and not because you'll win anything... it's different for everybody. My experience is my experience, and it's no better or worse or more difficult or less difficult than anybody else's.

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