Guy Pearce says Kevin Spacey was a “handsy guy” on the set of their Academy Award-winning film, L.A. Confidential . The bombshell revelation was revealed to interviewer Andrew Denton on the set of the Australian talk show, Seven. A sneak-peak of Pearce’s remarks was released earlier and the full interview is set to air later today.
According to the Daily Beast , Pearce was asked about working with Spacey on the set of the 1997 film. Pearce answered that it was a “tough one to talk about at the moment. Amazing actor. Incredible actor. Slightly difficult time Kevin, yeah…He’s a handsy guy.” It was also reported that Pearce followed up by saying, “Thankfully I was 29 and not 14.”
Kevin Spacey’s reputation plummeted after actor Anthony Rapp accused the Oscar winner of making unwanted physical advances on him while he was just 14. Spacey was 26. The two were acquainted because they were both performing in Broadway plays at the time.
Spacey didn’t dispute Rapp’s recollection of the incident but said he didn’t remember it. He released a statement apologizing for what would have been “deeply inappropriate, drunken behavior.” Afterward, several other men came forward and alleged they had also been groped by Spacey without their consent. Scotland Yard is investigating complaints stemming from the actor’s tenure as the artistic director of the Old Vic Theater in London. No criminal charges have been filed as of yet.
In the wake of the allegations, Spacey was fired from his lead role in the hit Netflix series, House of Cards . He was also famously replaced by Christopher Plummer in the Ridley Scott movie, All The Money In the World . Spacey’s scenes had already been filmed, and several cast members were asked to come back to reshoot their scenes with Plummer. The reshoot was done on a tight calendar, just ahead of the movie’s release. Plummer had just nine days to shoot his scenes. He was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work.
The reshoot itself stirred up controversy and became a Me Too moment of its own when it was revealed that critically lauded actor Michelle Williams was paid approximately $1,000 to reshoot her scenes, while Mark Wahlberg negotiated a payment of 1.5 million dollars, despite the fact the two are represented by the same agency. When the disparity was made public, Wahlberg announced he would donate his entire fee to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in William’s name. The pair’s agency, WME, added an additional donation of $500,000.000.