'MACK' DADDY KEVIN SPACEY BRINGS HIS UNBRIDLED BOBBY DARIN ENTHUSIASM TO 'BEYOND THE SEA'.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

Before he was Spacey, long before he played such memorable movie roles as Keyser Soze in ``The Usual Suspects'' and Lester Burnham in ``American Beauty,'' a boy named Kevin Fowler fell in love with a voice he heard on his parents' stereo while growing up in the Valley.

The voice belonged to Bobby Darin, and the young Kevin Spacey soaked up the style and panache of a genre-bending performer whose songs encompassed rock 'n' roll, Vegas-style big band and rousing folk-rock in numbers like ``Splish Splash,'' ``Dream Lover,'' ``Beyond the Sea'' and ``Simple Song of Freedom.''

Spacey, who grew up in Chatsworth and retains ties to the area, recalls being ``the kid standing in the living room singing into a hairbrush to my family. Bobby did the same thing except he was singing along to Frank Sinatra records and I was singing along to Bobby Darin records.''

The impression the late Darin made on Spacey was deep and lasting, and the idea of fleshing out the entertainer took root early. Opening Friday is ``Beyond the Sea,'' a $25 million musical biopic about the multifaceted crooner's life, directed, produced and starring the two-time Oscar winner. Spacey, who has a background in musical comedy, sang all the numbers on the soundtrack - and took his act on the road for a gig that came to the Wiltern last week.

The whimsical, long-anticipated movie project based on Darin's life was a tough sell in Hollywood. Spacey was nominated Monday for a Golden Globe in the best actor in a musical or comedy category for his role in the film.

``The common wisdom is that people only go to biopics about people they're familiar with,'' Spacey said. ``So, I thought, 'Well, even if you think Bobby Darin was a shortstop on the Mets, why should that matter?' Because taking their logic, you'd look at another script and say it's a terrific story, it's got a great character, but whoever heard of Forrest Gump? The argument is never brought up for fictional characters - only for people that actually lived.

``If you know who Bobby Darin is, great. If you don't know who he is, it doesn't matter. You'll find that out in the course of the film.''

It's safe to assume there will be lots of folks who have no idea who Darin was, aside from having sung such oldies-radio perennials as ``Mack the Knife,'' ``Dream Lover,'' ``Splish Splash'' and ``Beyond the Sea.''

Darin, who died in 1973 at age 37 from a heart condition brought on by the rheumatic fever he had as a child, was an unusually prolific performer who recorded hundreds of songs and moved effortlessly between genres during a mere 14-year career.

Married to ``Gidget'' sweetheart Sandra Dee, Darin spent the early '60s playing Vegas showrooms and acting in films, eventually developing a social conscience before politically aware songcraft was fashionable. Spacey's film, starring Kate Bosworth as Dee, John Goodman as manager Steve Blauner, Bob Hoskins as brother-in-law Charlie Cassotto Maffia and Brenda Blethyn as Darin's mother, follows the arc of Darin's short but influential career.

``Bobby never sat back on his laurels,'' Spacey, 45, said. ``He continually tested himself, stretched his talent, pushed himself - sometimes to the detriment of his career. He did things people didn't think he should do, he did music people didn't like, and he wrote songs that were in some ways social commentary on what was happening in the U.S. at the time. But because he died so young, he's sort of been the forgotten one. And I hope this movie will help re-establish his place in our culture.''

The film was shot in Germany to make it easy on Spacey, who has been based in London since taking over as artistic director of the historic Old Vic Theatre. Although he has finished shooting a noirish mystery called ``Edison,'' it may be awhile before the ``American Beauty'' and ``Usual Suspects'' Oscar winner returns to the big screen - the Juilliard-trained Spacey is committed to the theater and plans to act in several upcoming productions, including a revival of the classic comedy ``The Philadelphia Story,'' which hasn't been staged in the West End for more than 50 years.

``I spent 10 years making movies, being all over the place, and I just said, 'What am I gonna do the next 10 years of my life? Am I gonna make movie after movie after movie after movie and occasionally try to squeeze in a play?' I said, 'No, actually, I'd rather do it the other way around.' It doesn't mean I won't make movies, but I'll make them when I'm available - and only the ones I hope will be worth doing.''

There's buzz on ``Beyond the Sea,'' fueled partially by Spacey's well-attended concert tour. Still, it may be a battle for some younger moviegoers since Darin is essentially unknown to several generations. Even 21-year-old actress Bosworth said she hadn't known of Darin before Spacey signed her to play the crooner's love interest.

``I knew nothing about Bobby Darin, but now, of course, I'm a real fan,'' she said. ``I was worried at first, because I wasn't sure if I should mimic what I could discover about Sandra Dee. But Kevin said we weren't imitating. What we're doing is creating characters from our heart. And it's really a guessing game in the end.''

Dee, who lives in virtual seclusion in Los Angeles, saw and liked the film (which goes into wide release Dec. 29), Spacey says. Much of the story is based on ``Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee,'' a 1994 book co-written by their son, Dodd Darin. Both Darin and Dee were stars when they married (she was 16 and he was eight years older), and the union lasted seven years before divorce.

Spacey, who worked closely with veterans of Darin's bands to prepare for his vocal duties, used Darin's original musical arrangements, which he received from Dodd Darin and the late singer's manager Steve Blauner. (Spacey dedicated his recent Los Angeles concert to his own late mother and Dodd Darin, who was in the audience).

In fact, Dodd Darin and Blauner had first insisted that whomever played Darin on screen must lip-sync to the original recordings, as Spacey's fellow Golden Globe nominee Jamie Foxx did in the recent Ray Charles biopic, ``Ray.'' Three years ago, Blauner was blunt when asked about Spacey: ``I think he's a great actor, but he can't sing. I can't be part of that.''

But after hearing Spacey sing on several TV specials, including a tribute to John Lennon, and on rehearsal tapes of Darin's songs, the pair had a change of heart and gave Spacey's voice their blessing.

``I spent years developing my voice and studying his act before we even had a script or the money to make the movie,'' Spacey said. ``I felt the vocals had to come from me in order for it to be alive. When they (Blauner and Dodd) were happy with the way I handled it, it meant a great deal to me.''

Spacey added that he hopes ``Beyond the Sea'' sparks appreciation not just for Darin's songs but for his diverse range of talents as well.

``After Sammy Davis Jr., Bobby was the greatest nightclub entertainer we had,'' the actor said. ``What we don't have anymore are all-around entertainers. Bobby tackled so many genres of music, but beyond that he danced, sang, did impressions, acted, played various instruments. He may have been the greatest nightclub entertainer we ever had.''

To that end, Spacey has handpicked a program of Darin's TV performances between 1959 and '73 that are currently being screened at the Museum of Television & Radio's locations in Beverly Hills and New York through Jan. 13.

A graduate of Chatsworth High School along with classmate Val Kilmer, Spacey said he recently spent time in the area while in rehearsals for the tour, which wraps up Dec. 26-27 at the Stardust Resort's Wayne Newton Theater in Las Vegas.

Despite a bank of frequent-flier mileage, awards here and abroad, and a U.K. residency, Spacey maintains a fondness for the place he was raised.

``I'm proud of the Valley, I love the Valley,'' he said. ``I'm still friends with many of my friends from high school. I was there last night - at the Motion Picture & Television (Hospital), just visiting.''

Spacey said he's been dropping by the movie industry retirement home in Woodland Hills since he was a teenager to sing Christmas carols each December.

``It's a remarkable facility,'' he said. ``I'm definitely going to end up there - I only hope they give me a room with a view.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

The Spacey-Darin connection

In the six degrees of separation game, you can go from Bobby Darin to Kevin Spacey in one move. Darin starred in the 1963 film ``Captain Newman, M.D.'' Robert Duvall, who was in that film, was also in 1990's ``A Show of Force'' with Spacey.

A more tenuous connection is Darin's cameo in the 1960 film ``Pepe,'' which also boasted a cameo by Jack Lemmon, who appeared with Spacey in a number of films, including the 1992 ``Glengarry Glen Ross.''

An even thinner thread is Darin's uncredited appearance in the 1957 Jerry Lewis film ``The Sad Sack.'' Lewis and Spacey were both cast members of the TV series ``Wiseguy'' during the 1988 season.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) DARE to be DARIN 

Kevin Spacey inhabits a role ... and fulfills a lifelong dream

Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com

(2) Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey portray husband-and-wife stars Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin in ``Beyond the Sea.''

Box:

The Spacey-Darin connection (see text)

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