Paul Glynn
Culture reporter
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Kevin Spacey was last year found not guilty of all charges of sexual assault against four men between 2001 and 2013
Kevin Spacey has responded to fellow actor Guy Pearce’s allegation that the Oscar-winner “targeted” him during the making of 1997 movie LA Confidential, telling the Australian to “grow up”, adding: “You are not a victim”.
It comes after Pearce – one of the stars of the recent Bafta-winning film The Brutalist – this week expanded on his alleged experiences with the US actor having previously called him “a handsy guy” in 2018.
Spacey – whose career was brought to a halt by a string of allegations – 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.
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 a sexual assault lawsuit against him.
‘He targeted me, no question’
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Guy Pearce appears alongside Adrien Brody in the Brutalist
Pearce told the Hollywood Reporter that the Oscar-winner “targeted me, no question” during the making of the 1997 crime thriller LA Confidential.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Pearce revealed he had told his wife at the time that he felt safe on set when his co-star Simon Baker was present, because Spacey allegedly focused his attentions on him instead.
He said the #MeToo movement, which saw allegations made against many men in Hollywood from 2017 onwards, had been “a really incredible wake-up call” for him.
The actor said he “broke down and sobbed” and “couldn’t stop” after he saw the allegations against Spacey in the news headlines. “I think it really dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sort of brushed it off and how I had either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever.”
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(Left to right) James Cromwell, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey in a publicity photo for 1997’s LA Confidential
On Tuesday, Spacey responded directly to Pearce in a video posted on X, saying: “If I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me.
“We could have had that conversation, but instead, you’ve decided to speak to the press, who are now, of course, coming after me, because they would like to know what my response is to the things that you said.
“You really want to know what my response is? Grow up.”
Spacey claimed Pearce omitted to mention he had flown to Georgia a year after LA Confidential was made “just to spend time with me” while he was filming another movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
“I mean, did you tell the press that too, or does that not fit into the victim narrative you have going?” he added.
“I apologise 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, but that doesn’t make any sense. That you would have just been leading me on, right? But here you are now on a mission, some 28 years later, after I’ve been through hell and back.”
Spacey concluded his message by saying he was happy to have a “conversation” with Pearce “anytime, anyplace”.
“I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said. “But Guy – you need to grow up. You are not a victim.”
Pearce earlier told the US publication he had raised Spacey’s alleged behaviour with him years later, and had “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin” that “got ugly”.
His new strategy these days, he noted, was “just try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is”.
