The controversial life and times of Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey has been cleared of several accusations of abuse. A London court decided that there was not enough evidence to support four allegations of sexual misconduct. After his rise to Hollywood stardom and colossal fall from grace in 2017, might the actor now make a comeback?

Kevin Spacey was born ‘Kevin Spacey Fowler’ on July 26th, 1959 in New Jersey. He's told several media that he had a complicated childhood. His father was often unemployed and they frequently had to move.

Spacey has described how, as a child, he felt terrified of his father. He characterized him as being a racist, homophobic, and antisemitic neo-Nazi. He has also claimed that it was his father’s judgemental views that led him to keep his sexual orientation private until 2017.

While his father did not approve of his goal of becoming an actor, Spacey began to develop his acting skills in high school. Following his graduation, he explored his comedic skills by performing stand-up.

In 1981, after his time at Juilliard, he had his first professional stage acting role in ‘Henry VI, Part 1.’ He then played Broadway for the first time in 1982 as Oswald in ‘Ghosts.’

His first film role was in Mike Nichols’ 1986 movie ‘Heartburn’ in which he shared the screen with Hollywood superstars Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.

Over the course of his career, Kevin Spacey has been nominated for and won several prestigious awards. He won a Tony award in 1991 for his role in ‘Lost in Yonkers.’ He received his first Academy Award for his supporting role in ‘The Usual Suspects’ in 1995.

His second Oscar came in 1999 for his lead role in 'American Beauty.' By that time, Kevin Spacey was a highly popular character actor in Hollywood.

Starting in 2013, Kevin Spacey brought the charismatic and homicidal politician Frank Underwood to the television screen through the successful Netflix series 'House of Cards.'

Starting in 2017, a large number of men began to accuse Kevin Spacey of inappropriate or illegal sexual conduct. They spoke out in the era of the 'Me Too' movement.

‘Rent’ and ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ actor Anthony Rapp attended a party at Kevin Spacey’s home when he was just 14 years old. He alleged in 2017 that Kevin Spacey had made inappropriate advances toward him at that party.

The civil case, filed in 2020, went to trial in October 2022 with Anthony Rapp taking the stand to share details about his experience with Spacey. Rapp sued Spacey for 40 million dollars in damages. A jury found that there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegation of sexual battery and Spacey was acquitted.

Since Anthony Rapp's first allegation, more than 30 people have shared their own allegations against Spacey with claims that range from harassment to attempted r a p e. Spacey has denied all allegations.

Image: Netflix

Kevin Spacey held the role of Artistic Director at the Old Vic Theatre in London from 2004-2015. Following an investigation into that period, Spacey faced 20 accusations of 'inappropriate behaviour' by individuals associated with the theatre.

Harry Dreyfuss, the son of actor Richard Dreyfuss, has written about his claim that Spacey groped him when they were together with his father at Spacey's apartment in 2008. Harry was 18 at the time. He says that Spacey was directing his father in a play at the Old Vic Theatre in London. Harry shared that his father did not see Spacey touch and grab him until years later. Kevin Spacey has denied these allegations.

Heather Unruh, a former TV anchor, alleged that her son had an encounter with Spacey at a bar in Nantucket. It was alleged that Spacey bought her son multiple drinks and then when her son was intoxicated, Spacey grabbed the 18-year-old's private parts. Sexual assault charges and a civil suit were filed but eventually dropped after problems arose with the case, including the victim's refusal to testify in court.

Following the initial allegations in 2017, Kevin Spacey was denied the International Emmy Founders Award that he was slated to receive. In November 2017, Netflix made the decision to cut ties with Spacey amid the climbing allegations.

Eventually, Netflix determined that the final season of ‘House of Cards’ would continue without Spacey, and his character was killed off the show. Netflix also decided not to release the film 'Gore' in which Spacey played the lead role of Gore Vidal.

With the release date for 'All the Money in the World' only six weeks away, and trailers for the movie featuring Kevin Spacey already in circulation, Director Ridley Scott made the decision to edit Spacey's scenes out of the film. The role was quickly recast with Christopher Plummer, refilmed, and edited. Christopher Plummer received great praise for his role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Spacey was facing nine charges including sexual assault, indecent assault, and causing a person to engage in p e n e t r a t i v e activity. The trial lasted almost four weeks and included character reference testimony from 10 witnesses including Elton John and his husband David Furnish.

Spacey denied all accusations when he took the stand for two days in his defence. On July 26, 2023, a jury found him not guilty of all charges following two days of deliberation.

Once sought after for high-profile films and television projects, Kevin Spacey has all but disappeared from Hollywood. Apart from some small roles in foreign films, his opportunities to work as an actor have been limited.

With a series of acquittals behind him, many are debating whether Kevin Spacey can rehabilitate his Hollywood career or whether the sheer number of allegations against him have damaged his reputation and career beyond repair.

Prior to his acquittal, Spacey told German 'Zeit Magazin': "I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London. The second that happens, they're ready to move forward."