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Kevin Spacey’s vast 30-year film and TV career has resulted in him portraying some pretty complex characters. But what about the spirit animals driving those characters? A spirit animal is a more primal version of oneself — not necessarily an alter ego, but stripped of inhibitions. Spacey’s ability to create such convoluted, twisted, and memorable characters perhaps goes deeper than method acting and into the spirit world… of animals. In celebration of Spacey’s upcoming 56th birthday this Saturday, let’s take a look at the driving forces of nature behind the actor’s intense roles over the years.

Heartburn (1986)
Role: Subway Thief
Spirit Animal: Weasel
The weasel is a grimy, slimy creature that slyly works its way into places where its unwelcome. In Spacey’s very first film role, he plays a punk kid who robs Rachel’s (Meryl Streep) group therapy session.
See where you can stream Heartburn on GoWatchIt.

Working Girl (1988)

Role: Bob Speck
Spirit Animal: Rabbit
You know what they say about rabbits. In Working Girl, Spacey plays the horny, annoyingly inappropriate office guy who’s forced by his boss to go out on a date with Tess (Melanie Griffith), much to his pleasure — but not so much hers.
See where you can stream Working Girl on GoWatchIt.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Role: John Williamson
Spirit Animal: Rat
Hey, it’s real estate, and businessmen have to do business. If the last few years have taught us anything, business doesn’t get done without at least one smarmy dude in the office. In Glengarry Glen Ross, Spacey is that guy who’s despised by almost everyone, much like a skeevy rat.
See where you can stream Glengarry Glen Ross on GoWatchIt.

The Usual Suspects (1995)
Role: Roger “Verbal” Kint
Spirit Animal: Chameleon
Chameleons adapt to and change their appearance based on their environment. While they aren’t necessarily evil animals, they are very sneaky in order to avoid predators. In The Usual Suspects, Spacey’s sneakiness won him an Academy Award. Some say when he accepted the award, he disappeared into the stage before they quickly cut to commercial…
See where you can stream The Usual Suspects on GoWatchIt.

Seven (1995)
Role: John Doe
Spirit Animal: Piranha
Piranhas are ruthless, terrifying little fish that refuse to leave their prey alone until they’ve gotten what they came for. Feeding off the pain of others, Spacey’s legendary role as serial killer John Doe is by far one of his most unsettling performances, aided by David Fincher’s incredibly bleak production design.
See where you can stream Se7en on GoWatchIt.

L.A. Confidential (1997)
Role: Jack Vincennes
Spirit Animal: Magpie
Magpies are more loyal creatures than they are cunning, traits ultimately leading to Jack’s — spoiler alert — shocking death when he gets too close to uncovering the corruption within the detective force and unknowingly threatens Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell).
See where you can stream L.A. Confidential on GoWatchIt.

A Bug’s Life (1998)
Role: Hopper
Spirit Animal: Grasshopper
Hide your food, hide your wife — Hopper is coming after the last leaf falls. Grasshoppers are hardy, dominant insects that can survive in an array of climes, even under harsh conditions. Their only true threat, which got Hopper in the end, are birds.
See where you can stream A Bug’s Life on GoWatchIt.

American Beauty (1999)
Role: Lester Burnham
Spirit Animal: Bear
It’s probably safe to say that bears are fairly dumb: always getting stuck in trees, rummaging through your garbage cans, and totally blowing any cover they hoped to achieve. Bears are too trusting of their environments and think that anything and everything is up for grabs, much like Lester did during his midlife crisis, spiraling down until he pissed off the wrong dude with a gun.
See where you can stream American Beauty on GoWatchIt.

Superman Returns (2006)
Role: Lex Luthor
Spirit Animal: Hairless Sphynx Cat
The strikingly similar “I want to take over the world” gazes between the Sphynx and Lex Luthor is a spirit animal match made in heaven. Sphynx cats are highly intelligent and curious, but like to stay inside — perhaps so they can plan their next evil ploy against humanity… and Superman.
See where you can stream Superman Returns on GoWatchIt.

House of Cards (2013)
Role: Frank Underwood
Spirit Animal: Shark
Underwood explicitly says in the pilot of the series that he loves his wife “more than sharks love blood.” Not only this, but Underwood doesn’t sleep much like his underwater counterpart, and he jumps at the first smell of weakness. Shivers.
Stream House of Cards on Netflix.