Kevin Spacey: 10 years at The Old Vic "made me a better actor"

Spacey's appointment as artistic director of the famous theatre was announced in February 2003 with his first season beginning in September 2004.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV's Charlie Rose, the actor and director denied that he had turned his back on Hollywood by choosing to concentrate on The Old Vic for a decade.

"The ten years that I spent there have made me a better actor," he said.

Asked whether he would return to film directing, Spacey said he thought he would be likely to do so "once I'm done at The Old Vic which is coming up in the next year".

Questioned on why this was the right time to leave the Waterloo theatre, Spacey replied: "Well, I made a 10 year commitment, number one.

"I will have fulfilled that commitment and gone one more year after that, because we kinda look at the first year as a startup year.

"So I will go after 11 years but my association with The Old Vic has been going on 17 years, by the time I leave."

The Hollywood star first came to The Old Vic in 1998 when he appeared in The Iceman Cometh.

He added: "We have successfully proved that you can run a major British institution for 10 years without any public subsidy.

"I sing and dance all the time for fundraising.

"That's why I'm trying to set up an endowment for The Old Vic for the future so the next artistic director doesn't have to spend nearly as much time fundraising as I have."

On what he will do next, he said: "I think there will be a whole new chapter. I'm not sure what it will be yet.

"It's very exciting to have these periods of my life where I have specifically focussed on one thing for a while and then shifted my focus and did another thing."

Spacey confirmed that he will keep homes in the UK and the USA when he leaves The Old Vic.

"I think I'll always end up being in both places," he said.

"It's been such a huge part of my life; it's been such an incredible place to live in.

"I really love Great Britain, I really do. They've made me feel so welcome."

Later this month Spacey will give the Mactaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. He is expected to talk about the important of nurturing new creative talent and is likely to talk about the world of the Old Vic New Voices project.