Spacey starts as Oxford professor

Spacey has appeared on both the stage and the big screen

Double Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is due to give his inaugural speech as a visiting professor at St Catherine's College in Oxford.

Spacey is the new Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at the college.

The star of American Beauty and artistic director of The Old Vic Theatre Company in London is due to deliver his lecture in the afternoon.

He has succeeded actor Patrick Stewart and will remain in the post for a year.

"I'm really looking forward to working with the students," he said.

"If my mother was still alive she would be smiling because she was a great Anglophile.

"She loved Britain and this would make her quite pleased."

The role promotes interest in contemporary theatre at the university.

Spacey, 48, has appeared in films including Superman Returns, The Usual Suspects and LA Confidential.