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Kevin Spacey has admitted that the plot of The Usual Suspects was so complex even the cast hadn't a clue what was going on.

The film features Spacey as con-man Roger 'Verbal' Kint, and centres around the identity of a mysterious criminal mastermind Keyser Soze. It also starred Gabriel Byrne and Pete Postlethwaite and led to Spacey winning as Oscar.

Spacey said director Bryan Singer liked to get people guessing throughout.

He said: "That was a incredibly complex movie and Bryan Singer had successfully pretty much convinced most of the cast that they were Keyser Soze so everyone thought it was going to be slightly different.

"I remember Gabriel Byrne and Bryan had an argument in the parking lot because he was absolutely convinced he was Keyser Soze."

Speaking at the Edinburgh television festival, Spacey also warned that TV bosses must respond to the revolution in viewing habits or risk losing out.

The star, whose TV series House of Cards was made available all at once on the streaming service Netflix, said experience showed that audiences sometimes want to “binge” on their favourite shows. They craved the shared experience of watching “great stories” — but at the time and in the medium of their choice.

And the “water-cooler moment” when they talked about them was now virtual on Twitter and Facebook, said Spacey, the first actor to give the prestigious MacTaggart lecture.

He told Britain’s top media executives at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that traditional broadcasters were too conservative and pre- occupied by “raw, dumb” ratings at the expense of innovative and challenging programmes.

He praised the Netflix model, adding: “We have demonstrated the lesson the music industry didn’t learn — give people what they want when they want it.”