Kevin Spacey It Forward" (2000), a patient in a mental institution who may or may not be an alien in "K-Pax" (2001), and singer Bobby Darin in "Beyond the Sea" (2004). The latter was a lifelong dream project for Spacey, who took on co-writing, directing, co-producing and starring duties in the biography/musical about Darin's life, career and relationship with actress Sandra Dee. Facing little interest for backing in the United States, Spacey went to the United Kingdom and Germany for funding. Almost all of the film was made in Berlin. Spacey provided his own vocals on the "Beyond the Sea" soundtrack and
Beyond the Sea (film) 1986. Shortly afterwards, Spacey was in discussions with Dodd Darin to star in the lead role. Spacey was able to acquire the film rights from Warner Bros. in early 2000. With the help of Dodd Darin, the actor also received exclusive music rights for no charge. With his Academy Award-winning performance in "American Beauty" (1999), Paramount Pictures became interested in distributing/financing "Beyond the Sea". The deal fell apart when Paramount told Spacey was that he was too old for the role and instead wanted Leonardo DiCaprio. Beginning in October 2000, Spacey took vocal training lessons from Darin collaborator Roger Kellaway