Kevin Spacey's love of theatre shines through documentary about 'Richard III' tour

Kevin Spacey, the two-time Oscar-winning actor and star of one of the most talked-about online streaming shows , leans forward and says that even in his lofty status among Hollywood actors, he still has a personal point to prove.

With new documentary , Spacey lets his personal passion for theatre roar in a film that introduces audiences to his second career on the stage as he tours the world with his company's production of William Shakespeare's historical play . (The show, which was part of The Bridge Project, came to Hong Kong in 2011 as part of the 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival. A review says the American actor was the star, "shining through almost every scene and handling this mentally and physically demanding role with aplomb".)

Spacey, 54, who will step down as the artistic director of London's The Old Vic theatre next year after a 12-year tenure, says his choice to cut back on his Hollywood career and devote his time to the stage struck many as a self-defeating project.

"A lot of people looked at me like a dog that's sort of a little puzzled," he says with a smile. "'Like, why do you do theatre, and why did you go off and run this theatre for 10 years? I don't get it. And isn't theatre boring? Why don't you just do movies and make a lot of money?'"

The documentary, directed by first-time filmmaker Jeremy Whelehan, gives a behind-the-scenes look into the production, play and tour of the transatlantic theatre group, The Bridge Project, a three-year venture between Spacey's Old Vic, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and director Sam Mendes.

recently opened in New York and is available for online download, as well as playing limited runs in other US cities. It opens in Britain on June 9. It follows the project's final production through rehearsals and its tour to places such as Beijing, Doha, San Francisco and Greece's ancient amphitheatre at Epidaurus.

Shakespeare's play dramatises Richard's bloody advance to the throne, all with a black-comedy turn. For the role, Spacey dons a hunchback and affects a club-footed gait to mimic the antihero's crumpled physical appearance.