10 Famous Actors Who Tried To Direct Movies (And Failed)

2. Beyond The Sea - Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey first expressed his desire to play singer Bobby Darin in a movie in 1994, but even then producers thought Spacey was too old to play Darin, who was only 37 when he died. However, the project had problems getting off the ground and it wasn't until Spacey bought the films rights himself in 2000 that he was able to get the movie going as director, producer, co-writer and star. Still, he had problems finding investors and the movie didn't begin shooting until November 2003. Before Beyond the Sea, Spacey's only directing experience was a little-seen 1996 crime film Albino Alligator, but this would be the first movie that Spacey both directed and starred in. While Spacey resembles Darin, Spacey was 44-years-old when Beyond the Sea started shooting. Even with heavy makeup his age is especially noticeable in his scenes with Kate Bosworth, who plays Darin's wife Sandra Dee despite being 24 years younger than Spacey (Darin was only 6 years older than Dee). Spacey also chose to sing all the songs himself, and while he also sounds like Darin it was an odd choice for a biopic. Probably because the movie was made in conjunction with Darin's son, it ended up seeming more like a sanitised celebration of Darin's music than anything else. Beyond the Sea only made about a third of its budget back at the box office and was critically panned, scoring 42% on Rotten Tomatoes.