KEVIN Spacey talks about the appeal of joining a great comedy cast in Horrible Bosses and what he considers his own management skills to be like at The Old Vic.

He also talks about film criticism and why he would encourage any actor to try their hand at theatre. He was speaking at a London press conference.

Q. What attracted you to Horrible Bosses?
Kevin Spacey: I wasn’t doing a play at the time. Like Seth [Gordon, the director], when I read it I just thought it was really hilarious and I think everybody was pretty much cast by the time I came on. But I loved the cast, so I thought it would be an absolute treat to do. The hardest part, in fact… and I’m sure this is true for my three protagonists was just not laughing the whole day long. It was just a lot of fun.

Q. Have you had a bad boss? What’s the strangest thing a director has asked you to do in preparation for a part?
Kevin Spacey: I’ve never had a horrible boss but I have had really remarkably stupid bosses. And that is frustrating because you think: “How did they get this job?” And then you realise: “Oh right, they’re the son of…”

Q. You are a boss at the Old Vic, so do you have any idea what your employees think of you? Are you a good boss?
Kevin Spacey: [Laughs] I’ve been very fortunate since I started at the Old Vic, I’m now in my eighth year of living here and we’re at the end of our seventh season of work. I guess there’s a little over 60 employees in the company and they get what we’re about and they’re very good. I learned to delegate early on and trust them and I like to make people feel the way that I feel when I’m in the presence of somebody who is in a position of authority. So, whether that’s someone like Mike Nicholls or Sam Mendes currently they create an atmosphere in which everybody just wants to come to work and do their best for them. And that’s the kind of environment that I try to create.

Q. Do they have a nick-name for you that you’re aware of?
Kevin Spacey: I think it’s a**hole but I’m not really sure [laughs].

Q. Could you imagine asking Jennifer Aniston to come to the Old Vic?
Kevin Spacey: Yes, I can imagine that. I can also imagine her telling me to go f**k myself [laughs]. Come play Richard III! There’s an offer! But look, I’m always encouraging actors, whether they grew up in the theatre, had experiences in the theatre, to give it a try. I don’t think you necessarily have to start off on the Old Vic stage, or necessarily doing it on Broadway. There’s lots of incredible theatres and places to go in which you may want to try out that set of muscles. I know that for myself the amount of work that I’ve been doing here in London, the amount of plays that I’ve done have made me better as an actor because of the directors I’ve worked with and the experience of what it’s like to be able to have the experience that we never really get in films. And that’s no matter how good you are in a movie, you’ll never be any better. In theatre, that’s not true.

Q. How did you enjoy working with Seth Gordon as your director?
Kevin Spacey: One of the things that I think we all had working in our favour was that Seth had a very, very clear idea of the tone of the film that he wanted to strike. And that really is helpful when you can improv within that area and you put the whole movie together and it has a consistent tone.

Q. Do you care about what critics say about your performances in films?
Kevin Spacey: I think there is a tendency to criticise a personality rather than the content, or actually even the performance. That’s a way to go… but the days of Kenneth Tynan are behind us. He was a very well known and well respected critic.

Read our review of Horrible Bosses

Read our interview with Jason Bateman

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