Kevin Spacey has hit back at Guy Pearce’s claims that he was “targeted” by the Oscar winner on set.
Earlier this week, Pearce, 57, claimed he was “scared” of Spacey while working with him on the 1997 crime thriller, L.A Confidential, because the actor was “aggressive” towards him.
He admitted he only felt “safe” around Spacey when their co-star Simon Baker (formerly Simon Denny) was around as Spacey would “focus on [him] because he’s much better looking”.
Speaking in a podcast, Pearce added that he “sobbed” when allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding Spacey - which he has since been cleared of - came to light in 2017.
On Tuesday, Spacey blasted his former co-star’s “mission” to “make him the bad guy” in a scathing video on X titled: “Grow up Guy Pearce, you are not a victim.”
The House Of Cards star, 65, said to the camera: “Guy Pearce, I've now read the comments about me and while I would prefer not to play this out on the media, you obviously have your own reasons for wanting to do exactly that.”
Spacey went on: “We worked together a long time ago, if I did something then that upset you, you could've reached out to me, we could have had that conversation.”
He claimed Pearce flew to Savannah, Georgia, “just to spend time with me” a year after they filmed LA Confidential.
The American Beauty star said: “I apologize that I didn't get the message that you don't like spending time with me. Maybe there was another reason, I don't know. That doesn't make any sense that you've just been leading me on.
“But here you are, on a mission, some 28 years later, after I've been through hell and back, to do what? Just in time to stop the bad guy? Huh? Is that what's going on here? What took you so long? Did your horse run out of gas?
“I mean, if you want to have a conversation, I'm happy to do so, anytime, any place. We can even do it here, live on X, if you'd like. I've got nothing to hide. But Guy, you need to grow up. You are not a victim.”
The Standard has contacted Pearce’s representative for comment.
Pearce had previously referred to Spacey as “a handsy guy” during an appearance on an Australian talk show in 2018.
He delved deeper into the impact of those experiences on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter 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.”
At the time, Pearce said he 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 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. Spacey admitted to "being too handsy" and "pushing the boundaries", in an interview last year with Piers Morgan, while saying he'd not done anything illegal. The actor has denied all allegations of inappropriate behaviour and criminal wrongdoing.
In 2023 the actor was found not guilty of all charges of sexual assault against four men between 2001 and 2013 after a trial in London; and in 2022 a US court dismissed the Rapp sexual assault lawsuit against him.
Pearce explained that he “broke down” when he saw the accusations.
“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,” he recalled.
“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.”
Last year, Spacey claimed that the #MeToo movement had “swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness.”
However, last week, a new sexual abuse claim was lodged against Spacey at the High Court.
Rauri Cannon is suing Spacey as well as two organisations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London.
