Guy Pearce opened up about his experience working with Kevin Spacey on the 1997 crime thriller L.A. Confidential, revealing that he only fully processed what happened on set years later.
Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Pearce reflected on his interactions with Spacey and the actor’s later sexual misconduct allegations.
He previously made a brief comment in 2018 on an Australian talk show, referring to Spacey as “a handsy guy.” However, in a new interview, he delved deeper into the impact of those experiences.
Speaking on the podcast, Pearce acknowledged that “even though I probably was a victim to a degree, I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to sexual predators.”
He continued, “But I did that thing that you do where you brush it off and go, ‘Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing.’ And I did that for five months. And, really, I was sort of scared of Kevin because he’s quite an aggressive man. 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.”
During the film’s production in Los Angeles, Pearce recalled that he often felt uneasy around Spacey. He admitted that he only felt “safe” when fellow co-star Simon Baker was on set since Spacey would shift his attention elsewhere.
However, at the time, Pearce didn’t fully grasp the extent of what was happening.
It wasn’t until “things came to light in 2017” that Pearce said he really understood what had transpired, although he said he “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin post-that that got ugly” in the years following L.A. Confidential.
The turning point came in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp publicly accused Spacey of making unwanted sexual advances toward him at a party in New York in 1986 when Rapp was just 14.
The allegations led to multiple other claims of misconduct against Spacey. Pearce explained that he “sobbed” when the serious allegations surrounding the actor, 65, came to light.
Recalling that time, Pearce shared: “I heard these stories about Kevin, sort of officially as news stories.
“And I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop. I think it really sort of dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sort of brushed it off and how I had sort of either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever.
“That was a really incredible wake up call, I suppose.”
Pearce recalled that in December 2017, shortly after Rapp’s accusations surfaced, he appeared on an Australian talk show and was asked about his former co-star.
“I just blurted it all out,” he continued. “And of course then it all hit the press. I’m sort of in that weird position of going, ‘I don’t want all the focus on this. I don’t want it. But at the same time I don’t want him to get away with what he gets away with.'”
He added: “I just try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is.”
Despite the accusations, Spacey has been legally cleared in two separate trials in the U.S. and the U.K. and successfully defended himself against Rapp’s lawsuit.
Last year, Spacey claimed that the #MeToo movement had “swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness.”
Speaking with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, the American Beauty star added: “I’m trying to show that I’ve listened. I’ve learned. I’ve got the memo. I feel very strongly that whatever mistakes I’ve made in my life, that I paid a price.”
However last week, a further sexual abuse claim has been lodged against the Oscar-winning actor at the High Court, according to filings seen by PA.
Rauri Cannon is suing Spacey as well as two organisations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London. Dushal Mehta, of law firm Fieldfisher, confirmed to the news agency that he had issued a claim on behalf of Mr Cannon, and also said that he had waived his anonymity in the claim.
No details of the allegations involved are currently available.
The Standard has contacted Kevin Spacey’s rep for comment.
