Kevin Spacey Photo: CFP

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

With new documentary Now: In the Wings on a World Stage, Spacey lets his personal passion for theater roar in a film that introduces audiences to his career on the stage as he tours the world with his own company's production of William Shakespeare's historical play Richard III.

Spacey, 54, the artistic director at London's the Old Vic theater since 2003, said his choice to cut back on his Hollywood career and devote 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," the star said with a smile. "'Like, why do you do theater, and why did you go off and run this theater for 10 years? I don't get. And isn't theater boring? Why don't you just do movies and make a lot of money?'"

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

Now: In The Wings opens in New York and is available for online download on Friday, rolling out to Los Angeles movie theaters next week.