Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images (Amy Sussman, Yui Mok/PA Images)
On Sunday night, as part of SNL 50, Kevin Spacey came up as a punch line when Fred Armisen asked about having him back as host. (Spacey hosted the show twice before he was accused of sexual harassment and assault.) Now, just days later, comes the news of another person traumatized by Spacey’s actions: Guy Pearce, the Oscar-nominated star of The Brutalist, alleged that Spacey made continual advances toward him in 1997 while filming L.A. Confidential. “I was sort of scared of Kevin because he’s quite an aggressive man,” Pearce told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s extremely charming and brilliant at what he does — really impressive, etc. He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question.”
Pearce previously called Spacey a “handsy guy” in 2018 during an interview with Australian talk show Interview following the first round of Spacey allegations. “Tough one to talk about at the moment. Amazing actor; incredible actor. Mmm. Slightly difficult time with Kevin, yeah,” Pearce said, later adding, “Thankfully, I was 29, and not 14.” Now, Pearce tells a different story about what it was like when Spacey’s allegations first came out. “I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop,” he said. “I think it really dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sort of brushed it off and how I had either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever.” Looking back at the difference between now and when he did the Australian talk show, Pearce said, “I just try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is.”
Spacey was first accused in 2017, when actor Anthony Rapp came forward with allegations that Spacey came on to him when he was 14, though Spacey was later found not liable in the resulting court case. In 2023, he was also found not guilty in a sexual-assault court case in Britain. Spacey was again accused of sexual assault in the 2024 documentary Spacey Unmasked. “I have consistently denied — and now successfully defended — numerous allegations made both in the U.S. and U.K., both criminal and civil, and each time have been able to source evidence undermining the allegations and have been believed by a jury of my peers,” Spacey said in a statement at the time of the documentary’s release. In an interview with Dan Wootton, he added: “I take full responsibility for my past behavior and my actions. But I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologize to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me.”
