Who directed the movie "American Beauty" (1999), which featured Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening and Chris Cooper among others?

Explanation

Kevin Spacey has been a part of the Hollywood scene for many years. He featured in a number of films and tv series before his major breakthrough in 1995 as the character Roger "Verbal" Kint - a.k.a. Kaiser Söze - in "The Usual Suspects". That same year he played the villain in "Se7en", and in 1997 he featured in the Academy Award-winning "L.A. Confidential", which was a cinematographic homage to the film noirs of the 1940s. He later played the title character of "The Life of David Gale" and, notably, the leading role of the Academy Award-winning "American Beauty" from 1999, which was directed by Sam Mendes.