Kevin Spacey has played the villain for much of his illustrious film and TV career, as the serial killer in Se7en, The Usual Suspects’ Keyser Soze, and Superman’s arch nemesis Lex Luthor among many others.
He publicly acknowledged his penchant for the characters audiences love to hate in a 2013 interview: "I think people just like me evil for some reason. They want me to be a son of a bitch.”
But since 2017, when his life “exploded” at the height of the #MeToo movement, Spacey has faced a different challenge: to convince people that he is no villain.
At Southwark crown court, a man famous for playing the Machiavellian Frank Underwood in Netflix’s House of Cards needed to convince perhaps his smallest ever audience - 12 men and women of the jury – that he is not the bad guy in real life.
CONSENTING ADULTS
Criminal charges came down on Spacey in 2022 after a protracted Metropolitan Police investigation, as he was accused by four different men of sexual assaults between 2001 and 2013.
The first accuser said Spacey groped him repeatedly when they were alone together, over the course of a few years, and especially when he was driving.
The man called him “snakey” and a “creep”, and described one incident when he said Spacey groped him so hard on a journey to Sir Elton John’s famous White Tie and Tiara Ball that he almost crashed the car.
Spacey’s team of lawyers and private investigators cast doubt on the man’s recollection of events, while Spacey himself said he was “crushed” by the allegations.
A second man claimed Spacey kissed and groped him at a holiday home in the Cotswolds after a drinking session in the pub, then “panicked” when the advance was rebuffed.
“He kissed my neck twice and grabbed my crotch. He said the words ‘Be cool, be cool’ twice”, said the man. “I put my arm between us and pushed him against a wall. I said ‘I am sorry, man, I don’t bat for that team’.” Spacey called it a “clumsy pass” that stopped almost as soon as it started.
The third accuser said Spacey turned up drunk and dishevelled to a West End charity event, making a string of abusive and sexually-charged comments before grabbing his crotch. But Spacey insisted this allegation was a tissue of lies.
And the fourth man said he received an unexpected call from Spacey after writing to him for acting career advice, and met the star outside Waterloo station at 11pm.
Spacey said a sexual encounter that followed at his £2.8 million London penthouse was entirely consensual, but one the man may have later regretted.
WEST END ‘GOLDEN BOY’
Spacey, celebrating his 64th birthday today, took to acting from a young age, leaving military academy for the famed Chatsworth High School in Los Angeles where he performed alongside fellow rising stars Mare Winningham and Val Kilmer.
He tried his hand at stand-up comedy while making his way as a jobbing actor, and made a big breakthrough in 1986 while acting on stage opposite Jack Lemmon in Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
Spacey received critical acclaim for his film role in 1992’s Glengarry Glen Ross, and landed the first of his two Oscars three years later for his iconic turn as Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects.
In court, Spacey was dubbed the “golden boy” of London’s theatre district for his instrumental role in reviving the Old Vic. He was never more at ease in the witness box than when discussing his acting career and love of the West End stage.
“There’s something quite unique about the Old Vic”, he told the jury. “When you stand in the centre of that stage, Laurence Olivier used to say it was the perfect spot.”
Spacey dropped in the names of famous co-stars and performances from his past including an award-winning turn in the Ice Man Cometh that inspired his return to the Old Vic years later as artistic director.
“I had no idea what I was doing, I had never run anything in my life, never run a theatre”, he said. “The Old Vic has a remarkable history.”
After a while Mr Justice Wall interjected, perhaps fearing Spacey would talk for hours about his showbiz career without focusing on the serious allegations in front of him.
LA CONFIDENTIAL
As an A-List movie star, Spacey has lived most of his adult life in the public eye. He collected his second Oscar for his 1999 turn as a depressed suburban ad executive in American Beauty and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the same year.
Films including K-Pax, Margin Call, and The Shipping News followed, as well as a passion project of singer Bobby Darin in 2004’s Beyond The Sea.
And in 2004 Spacey made the headline-grabbing decision to become the artistic director of the Old Vic in London, with a mandate to restore the theatre to its former glory.
However Spacey retained an air of mystery over his private life despite living his life in the spotlight.
He only came out publicly as gay in 2017, at the same time as denying the first sexual misconduct claim and in a misjudged statement that angered the LGBTQ+ community.
“The gay community had been pressuring me for a very long time about coming out”, said Spacey, who was reduced to tears as he recalled the storm he faced.
“I thought in the face of this terrible accusation maybe I can do something at least positive”, he said, adding: “Maybe now… people will read that with a little bit more understanding.”
Spacey also revealed in the trial snippets of his personal life, including a close friendship with Dame Judi Dench after she lost her husband and they worked together on The Shipping News and a shared love of ping pong.
Spacey jokingly called himself the “dumbest man in England” after telling the court he still pays eye-watering rental fees for a phone in the UK after living here for nearly 20 years.
He talked of his obsessive trawls through storage containers in London and the US, in search of artefacts from his Hollywood career that may boost his defence case.
And he opened up about his “promiscuous” sex life, defiantly insisting: “It doesn’t make me a bad person.”
THE USUAL SUSPECT?
Spacey’s private life was a regular talking point on the West End rumour mill, where his sexuality was an open secret during his years treading the boards in London.
There was “always chatter” about Spacey “chatting younger lads up” and it was “a bit of a thing that we would joke about as young men”, one of the witnesses said.
In April 2004, his much-trumpeted return to the Old Vic was over-shadowed by an unusual incident when Spacey, on a 4.30am walk of his dog, was injured and lost his phone.
Spacey, sporting injuries, reported a mugging to police but then went on the radio to say he had fallen for a “sob story about somebody needing to call their mother”, handed his phone to a young man, and they had simply run away.
“I was so upset I ran after him”, he said. "I tripped up over my dog, and I ended up falling on to the street and hitting myself in the head.
"And now I’m bleeding relatively profusely, I’m extremely upset, I feel like the biggest fool that has ever lived.”
Spacey was not questioned on this incident during his trial. He did open up under questioning about his romantic life.
“In my life, many of the most important friends I have today I met when I was in my 20s and 30s”, he said.
“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 interest in me, we became great friends and are still great friends. That’s the way I am.”
Spacey described “hook ups” with men and said he could have slept with many people due to his fame.
But he insisted: “I did not have a power wand I waved in front of people’s faces and then they went to bed with me.
“I respected when they told me they are not interested, and that’s what I’ve done my whole life.”
PAY IT FORWARD
Spacey counts former US President Bill Clinton among his personal friends and has starred alongside the likes of Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jamie Foxx in a glittering career.
His character references at trial, however, focused more on Spacey’s benevolence to those less fortunate in the film industry who are looking for support and guidance.
Brad Koepenick, an actor and producer who came through with Spacey at Chatsworth said he “inspired the rest of us to step up” with his relentless dedication to his art.
He said Spacey – on his way to stardom – “helped many of us to find our way in a business that could sometimes seem hopeless”.
Tania McComas, Spacey’s personal make-up artist for many years, said the actor flew her to London for the BAFTAs when she was nominated for American Beauty and the studio had refused to pay.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience made possible by Kevin’s generosity and support.”
Spacey also had a genuinely A-lister among his support cast at court – Sir Elton John made a grouchy appearance via videolink from Monaco alongside his husband David Furnish.
Both told the court about Spacey’s surprise appearance at the 2001 White Tie and Tiara Ball, bringing a touch of stardust to the charity gala.
GLENGARRY GLEN ‘CROSS’
Spacey became a pariah in Hollywood after allegations against him first surfaced, and although he has been working on films none have yet made it to the big screen.
He did, however, release three Christmas videos in 2018, 2019, and 2020 in his Frank Underwood guise, to the bemusement of many.
In the first, Spacey promised: “Soon enough you will know the full truth”.
In the second, sitting by a log fire, he told viewers: “The next time someone does something you don’t like, you can go on the attack. “But you can also hold your fire and do the unexpected – you can kill them with kindness.”
When he first appeared in the dock at Westminster magistrates court last year, Spacey appeared to be again channelling his House of Cards alter ego – glaring at the assembled reporters in the public gallery before he was confronted with the charges for the first time.
In the witness box, many in court expected a calm and collected performance from Spacey the screen icon. What we saw was a fallen star who was at times rattled by the questions he faced, defensive about his lifestyle, and even angry at the destructive impact the claims have had on his life.
“Absolutely bollocks”, he growled, when accused of groping one of the men in the midst of a West End charity event.
In another memorable exchange, Spacey forcefully insisted one of his accusers is out for “money, money, and then more money”, insisting: “I don’t accept a single word that comes out of his mouth”.
REBUILDING THE HOUSE OF CARDS
Spacey walked free from Southwark crown court today after being cleared of nine charges of sexual assault, emerging victorious from a 14-month battle to clear his name in London.
His troubles are not over, however. Two of the four accusers in the criminal case are still in the midst of civil claims for damages, the court heard, when their allegations – if persisted with – will be tested against the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt.
Last year, he was ordered to pay out $31 million to the House of Cards studio for the cost of removing him from the show amid sexual misconduct allegations. Details of that case were kept private at the time.
And there is a lingering report from the Old Vic, issued in 2017 shortly after Spacey had first been accused, which found a “cult of personality” around the star had stopped junior staffers from coming forward with allegations about his conduct.
The theatre issued an apology and said 20 allegations of inappropriate conduct had now been made against the star.
However, Spacey will have his acquittal in a criminal trial as a significant springboard towards a possible rehabilitation in Hollywood. He insisted from the start of legal proceedings that he would clear his name, and did just that today.
On the eve of his trial, he complained “the media have done their best to turn me into a monster”, but with two films already ready for release Spacey defiantly said: “There are people right now who are ready to hire me.”
After the experience of the last six years, perhaps a return to Hollywood stardom is on the cards, but perhaps he will steer clear of the villainous “son of a bitch” roles in future.
