Kevin Spacey was “not fun to work with”, according to director Barry Sonnenfeld.
The ‘American Beauty’ actor, 65, wept in court in July as he was cleared of all charges in his sexual assault trial in London after jurors at Southwark Crown Court returned not guilty verdicts for nine sexual offence charges relating to four men between 2001 and 2013, and he has been battling to rebuild his acting career ever since.
‘Men in Black’ filmmaker Barry, 71, says in his new autobiography he had issues with Kevin long before his court battle.
He says in his book ‘Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood’: “Kevin was not fun to work with. He was mean, unhelpful, critical of other actors, and he had the kind of personality I tried to keep off set as much as possible.”
Barry also says in his memoir he clashed with comedian Tim Allen on the set of 2002 comedy film ‘Big Trouble’.
He added: “Tim was a handful on set. He was loud and his jokes were repetitive and sometimes mean.”
Barry also said the 71-year-old sitcom star bizarrely said on set about his co-star Rene Russo: “I’m not attracted to her.”
He added: “We were filming the scene where Rene and Tim meet for the first time. It’s important that we sense instant chemistry between the two.”
Barry said he told Tim it was vital he looked “instantly smitten” with Rene, but added the ‘Home Improvement’ actor replied: “Why would I be?”
When Barry told him: “Well, she’s beautiful and in the previous scene where you first saw her she was funny and witty…”, he said Tim replied: “I’m not attracted to her.”
Barry said Rene, now 70, was “one of the most beautiful women” he had worked with – adding: “(and) I’ve worked with… very beautiful woman”.
