Kevin Spacey speaks onstage at the 2014 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition at Dolby Theatre on November 9, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Getty)
Netflix’s hit show House of Cards is about to return for its fifth season.
The newest episodes of the political drama will hit Netflix on Tuesday, May 30th. This latest season will feature its own version of the 2016 election, in which incumbent president Frank Underwood goes head to head with New York Governor Will Conway.
Part of the reason House of Cards is so watchable is the astounding performance of Kevin Spacey, who plays Frank Underwood as a conniving foe who is always one step ahead of everyone else and who we simply can’t look away from.
Spacey, 57, has been acting since 1986, with one of his first major roles coming in 1992’s Glengarry Glen Ross. These days, Spacey continues to star in feature films in addition to being at the center of the Netflix drama. So throughout this lengthy acting career, what kind of wealth has Kevin Spacey amassed? Here’s what you need to know about the finances of Kevin Spacey.
1. His Net Worth is $100 Million
Kevin Spacey attends the Oscars held at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Getty)
Kevin Spacey’s current net worth is estimated to be $100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
For comparison to some other actors in prestige dramas, Jon Hamm’s net worth is $30 million, Peter Dinklage’s net worth is $15 million, Kyle Chandler’s net worth is $9 million, and Rami Malek’s net worth is $5 million.
Outside of television, Spacey has starred in over 50 films between 1986 and 2017. His first was Heartburn, a Meryl Streep movie in which Spacey played a subway thief.
In 2017, Spacey will star in three films: Rebel in the Rye, which tells the story of J. D. Salinger; Baby Driver, an action-comedy about a getaway driver; and Billionaire Boys Club, a crime drama about a group of young men who engage in a get-rich-quick scheme in Los Angeles.
2. He Initially Pursued a Career as a Stand-up Comedian
Kevin Spacey attends The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty)
Though Kevin Spacey has made a successful career for himself as an actor, it was comedy that originally drew him into the world of entertainment.
During an interview on Enough Rope With Andrew Denton, Spacey said that he would often perform comedy around people who were not even particularly interested in his set.
“…[T]hey would have talent contests in bowling alleys at midnight,” Spacey said. “When you’re in a bowling alley and you’re doing what you think is your best material and all you can hear is the sound of bowling pins being knocked over, it’s not very encouraging.”
After not doing well as a stand-up comedian, Spacey moved to New York to study acting at Juilliard. Though he has never returned to stand-up, Spacey has of course had the opportunity to show off his comedic chops in films like Horrible Bosses, Fred Claus, and Nine Lives. He has also hosted Saturday Night Live several times.
3. He Makes $500,000 Per Episode for ‘House of Cards’
Kevin Spacey in the press room during the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, (Getty)
Kevin Spacey brings in a pretty substantial sum for House of Cards, making $500,000 per episode. Each season of the Netflix original series consists of 13 episodes, and so Spacey makes $6.5 million per year from House of Cards alone.
He may even make more than that, as this $500,000 figure comes from 2014, as reported in TV Guide. There have been several seasons of the show since then, and so it would not be surprising if Spacey has received a raise by now.
$500,000 per episode is quite a bit of money, but it’s hardly the biggest salary of anyone on a TV drama right now. Recently, Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, and Emilia Clarke reportedly negotiated a fee of $2.6 million per episode for Season 7 and Season 8, according to Screen Rant.
4. His Co-star, Robin Wright, Demanded a Pay Raise to Match His
Robin Wright arrives at the special screening of Netflix’s “House of Cards” Season 2 at the Directors Guild Of America on February 13, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty)
On House of Cards, Frank and Claire Underwood essentially function as equal partners, but for a while, Robin Wright was not being paid as much as Kevin Spacey.
However, Wright revealed in 2016 that she fought for the same salary as Kevin Spacey behind-the-scenes.
“It was a perfect paradigm,” Wright said, according to The Huffington Post. “There are very few films or TV shows where the male, the patriarch, and the matriarch are equal. And they are in House of Cards. I was looking at statistics and Claire Underwood’s character was more popular than [Frank’s] for a period of time. So I capitalized on that moment. I was like, ‘You better pay me or I’m going to go public. And they did.”
Forbes had previously reported that Wright made $5.5 million on House of Cards, which breaks down to about $420,000 per episode, $80,000 less than Spacey’s fee.
5. He Sold a Los Angeles Home for $15,000,000 in 2015
Kevin Spacey arrives at the special screening of Netflix’s “House of Cards” Season 2 at the Directors Guild Of America on February 13, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty)
In 2015, Variety reported that Kevin Spacey was selling a $15 million home in Los Angeles.
Spacey had been living there for a while, with Variety reporting that Spacey purchased the five-bedroom home in 1997 for $2.1 million,
For some time, Spacey also owned the house next door to this one in Los Angeles; he bought this neighboring house in 2001 for $1.9 million and sold it in 2006 for $2.5 million, according to Variety.