What happened between Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey? Australian star recalls seemingly troubling encounter on L.A. Confidential set

Guy Pearce is opening up about his experience working with Kevin Spacey. The 57-year-old Australian actor, who has a son with Game of Thrones actress and ex-partner Carice Van Houten, is finally spelling out Spacey’s alleged problematic behavior on the set of Curtis Hanson’s 1997 film L.A. Confidential.

Pearce, who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for his role in The Brutalist, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg for the Awards Chatter podcast on February 15. Pearce went into detail about how the former House of Cards actor Spacey made him uncomfortable while shooting L.A. Confidential in 1996.

The actor, whose 2000 performance in Christopher Nolan’s Memento was lauded by critics, said that though he wasn’t subjected to s*xual assault, Spacey allegedly made him feel threatened. Pearce said,

“I don't want to use the word victim, because even though I probably was a victim to a degree, I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to s*xual predators.”

Pearce added,

“I was young and, you know, susceptible and he targeted me, no question.”

MeToo allegations against Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey, a widely decorated actor, was the subject of public ire during the MeToo movement, which took Hollywood by storm in 2017. Spacey was accused of s*xual assault by actor Anthony Rapp when the latter was fourteen years old. Rapp had also filed a lawsuit against Spacey, who was found “not liable” by a Manhattan jury in 2022, according to NBC News.

CNN reported various employees of House of Cards’ experience of inappropriate s*xual behavior by Spacey.

Spacey also faced allegations of s*xual abuse and assault in Britain, where the actor worked at the Old Vic Theatre in London for several years. Spacey was exonerated of these charges by a London jury two years ago. Spacey has always maintained his innocence in statements on his social media, as well as those given to the media.

Pearce also spoke to Feinberg about listening to news about the allegations against Spacey. He said,

“I was in London working on something and I heard this and I broke down and sobbed and I couldn't stop.”

Pausing and with great difficulty, Pearce continued,

“And I think, I think it really sort of dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sort of brushed it off. And how I sort of either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever.”

Guy Pearce’s older comment about Kevin Spacey

Pearce had alluded to Kevin Spacey’s alleged s*xually inappropriate behavior in 2018 as well. Speaking to Andrew Denton in an Interview in Australia, Pearce said, while referring to Kevin Spacey,

“Tough one to talk about at the moment. Amazing actor; incredible actor. Slightly difficult time with Kevin, yeah…He’s a handsy guy.”

Pearce’s comment at the time had led to speculations whether Pearce was also one of Stacey’s alleged victims.

Addressing that moment in the Awards Chatter podcast, Pearce said that while he wasn’t keen on talking about Spacey’s behavior at that time, he felt that it should nonetheless be addressed. Pearce explained,

“I'm in that weird position of going, I don't want all the focus on this, I don't want it, but at the same time, I don't want him to get away with what he gets away with. So yeah, no, thank you, thank you. So I just try and be more honest about it now and call it for what it is.”

Kevin Spacey was removed from his role in House of Cards after the news of allegations against him broke in 2017. His character's arc was cut short in the Netflix series. Netflix also dropped a biographical film on Gore Vidal starring Spacey. Director Ridley Scott’s crime drama, All the Money in the World, also dropped Spacey even though the film had already been shot.

Guy Pearce’s detailing of his experience with Kevin Spacey comes in the wake of the release of Pearce’s The Brutalist which promises to be an award season favorite.