Kevin Spacey denied using his power and influence as the “golden boy” of London’s theatre scene to convince men to sleep with him, insisting he “did not have a power wand” to get sex.
The double Oscar-winning actor, 63, faces claims he sexually assaulted four different men between 2001 and 2013, including one allegations that he performed a sex act on a young actor while he slept.
Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC said Spacey had been “the golden boy of the London theatre scene” while he was artistic director of the Old Vic, suggesting anyone accusing him of sexual misconduct was “unlikely to be believed”.
“I agree I have used the position I gratefully found myself in to help others, to create art, to try to bring the Old Vic back to its magical days”, he said.
“That’s what I used my power and position for.
“I did not have a power wand I waved in front of people’s faces and then they went to bed with me whenever I wanted.
“I respected when they told me they are not interested, and that’s what I’ve done my whole life.”
Spacey is said to have met the young actor outside Waterloo Station at 11pm after the star was asked for mentoring and career tips.
Spacey told jurors: “I would simply say in my industry, like in a lot of industries, people do meet in the work space. We met in the work space. He reached out because he wanted to meet with me.”
He continued: “He may have had an idea of what that evening was going to be about, and I had a different idea.”
Asked about a possible power imbalance, Spacey said: “Steven Spielberg cast Kate Capshaw in Raiders of the Lost Ark. There’s no doubt he was in a powerful position.”
He then added: “They are married, have children, it’s beautiful.”
He also told the court: “In my life, many of the most important friends I have today I met when I was in my 20s and 30s. I was attracted to them, I fell in love with some of my friends.
“You know what happened? When I found out they were not interested in me, we became great friends and are still great friends. That’s the way I am.”
Closing her cross-examination, Ms Agnew said: “You suggested yesterday you were just a big flirt.
“I’m going to suggest you are wrong about that, and you are just a big sexual bully.”
Spacey replied: “Yes, that’s your term.”
Earlier, the Hollywood actor dismissed claims that he sexually assaulted a man at a West End theatre as “absolute b******s” in fiery exchanges in courtroom one at Southwark crown court.
Spacey is accused of groping one of his accusers during a charity gala, in an allegation he forcefully decried as false.
“I don’t accept a single word that comes out of his mouth”, Spacey told the jury, denying claims that he had made a string of sexually explicit comments to the man.
“There are deeply personal reasons why I have never and would never speak to a human being in the way (he) has claimed”, he said.
“Deeply personal to me, not something I treat lightly”, he said, and raised his voice to add: “I never said what he said I said.
When prosecutor Christine Agnew KC suggested Spacey had “grabbed him by the crotch”, Spacey shot back: “Absolute b*******s.”
After a pause, Ms Agnew said: “Yep, that’s exactly where you did grab him.”
Spacey took a breath and replied: “Really?”
Mr Justice Wall was forced to interject three times in quick succession to remind Spacey to answer prosecution questions, telling him this was his opportunity to deny the claims against him.
“Did he accuse me of grabbing his b*******s?”, asked Spacey, and when the judge said “yes” he told the court: “I did not.”
Ms Agnew suggested Spacey “got turned on and decided to go for it”, and the Hollywood star replied: “You are just making it up now.”
The judge told him: “You must answer the question. If the question is improper, I will stop it. Counsel is putting to you the prosecution case as to what you did and why you did it.”
Earlier, Spacey said claims he had turned up the theatre looking dishevelled and smelling of alcohol were “pure fantasy”.
At the start of cross-examination, Spacey said he had “casual indiscriminate sex” with men during his career but insisted to a court: “That doesn’t make me a bad person.”
He is accused of sexually assaulting four different men between 2001 and 2013, including allegations he groped them and performed a sex act on one as he slept.
Giving evidence, Spacey told the court he believes two of the men now “regretted” consensual sexual encounters, and accused one – a young actor – of using his fame to try to boost their own career.
“I’ve been very open about the fact at times I was promiscuous and I had casual indiscriminate sexual encounters”, Spacey told jurors.
Asked if he found it thrilling, he said: “It doesn’t make me a bad person.
“I find being intimate with another human being remarkable and beautiful. If you want to use the word thrilling, OK, for me it is very beautiful and valuable.”
Asked about fame and attention, Spacey added: “I’m sure if I wanted I could have had sex with lots of people, all the time. I didn’t.”
Continuing to question Spacey, Ms Agnew then asked: “Did you ever feel lonely in those years?”
“Of course,” Spacey answered.
Ms Agnew continued: “Did you then reach out to people sexually in order to ease that burden?”
Spacey replied: “Welcome to life. Yes, yes I did.”
Spacey, the star of The Usual Suspects and Superman Returns, was the artistic director of the Old Vic in London between 2003 and 2015.
In the witness box on Thursday, Spacey broke down in tears as he detailed the impact sexual assault allegations have had on his life.
He said work dried up, his reputation was ruined, and he was ostracised by the gay community.
“My world exploded”, he said.
Spacey is accused of sexually assaulting four different men between 2001 and 2013.
The Hollywood star says an alleged assault on a man at his Cotswolds holiday home was nothing more than a “clumsy pass”.
He said a claim that he performed a sex act on a sleeping man is untrue, and came from a reimagining of a “lovely” consensual night.
“We were romantic and I performed oral sex on him. We were in a romantic situation”, he said. “I don’t know who made the first move. We were consensual together in a romantic situation.”
When Ms Agnew suggested they “went up to your flat, there was an awkward hug and you put your face in his crotch”, Spacey replied: “No, but that’s what he has testified.
“He did not fall asleep and I didn’t perform oral sex on him while he was asleep, despite what he has shockingly accused me of”, saying the claims are “completely wrong and upsetting”.
Spacey has also said he was “crushed” by claims from a man who accuses him of repeatedly assaulting him as he was driving.
“It didn’t happen in a violent, aggressive, painful way”, he said. “It was gentle, it was touching, and it was in my mind romantic.”
On Friday, he called it a “naughty relationship” involving “sexual touching” over their clothes.
Spacey has pleaded not guilty to four counts of indecent assault, seven counts of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The trial continues.
