Kevin Spacey has been based in London these past few years, at the helm of the storied Old Vic Theatre there, but the Oscar winner certainly has plenty of good things to say about the state of Irish theater and its myriad talents, particularly the likes of Conor McPherson, Enda Walsh, Garry Hynes and Martin McDonagh. (Okay, the latter is British-born, but his shows are Irish through and through).

“Those guys are just something else, some of the most amazing talent that has emerged from anywhere in recent years,” Spacey told the Evening Herald in Dublin.  

He also had particular praise for Hynes, who won a Tony Award in 1998 for directing McDonagh’s classic The Beauty Queen of Leenane. "She's a courageous and visionary director who has never been afraid to take chances in the theater," he said.

Though Spacey takes the stage every night at the Old Vic – he’s currently starring in a production of the American play Inherit the Wind – he wouldn’t rule out a stop at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in the future.

“Well, I'm a huge fan of George Bernard Shaw and it would certainly be a pleasure to go there. But I'm not going anywhere until I've finished at the Old Vic,” he told the Herald.

In the meantime, Spacey fans can get their fill come next month, when he takes to the screen again with George Clooney in The Men Who Stare at Goats.