Kevin Spacey to Play Detective Investigating a Man Wrongly Accused of Pedophilia in First Film Since Allegations
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Kevin Spacey, in his first film role back since being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple young men, is set to play a detective investigating a man wrongly accused of pedophilia.
Spacey was cast to have a small role in L’uomo Che Disegnò Dio (“The Man Who Drew God”) — according to Variety — an independent Italian film directed by Franco Nero, produced by Louis Nero, and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero’s wife.
According to the film’s entry in Filmitalia, the plot follows “the rise and fall of a blind artist who has the extraordinary gift of making true-to-life portraits just by listening to human voices.”
Spacey is set to play the role of a detective investigating wrongful allegations of pedophilia against the artist, played by Franco Nero.
While Spacey has not made a public statement on the role, Nero confirmed the casting choice to ABC News this weekend, saying, “I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film. I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”
The irony is hard to miss, as Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of assaulting him when he was just 14. Rapp even labeled the disgraced actor as a “pedophile” in an interview with Vulture.
“I would call him that to his face. I would call him a pedophile and a sexual predator,” said Rapp. “When I turned 25, I looked at every 14-year-old boy I could see, to try to understand what those men had seen, because I still on some level thought I had been a tiny adult.”
“He is a pedophile,” he added. “When you look at his statement, you realize also he’s profoundly narcissistic. He thinks this is about being caught that he’s gay. And then he is spinning it, right?”
Spacey denied Rapp’s allegations.
Spacey’s last biggest role was in Netflix’s House of Cards, which he left in late 2017 after at least 20 people accused him of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior while he was working at Old Vic Theatre in London.
The actor was later edited out of Ridley Scott’s 2017 film All the Money in the World, and replaced by Christopher Plummer.
Spacey was later charged with assault in 2018 due to an alleged groping involving a teenager on Nantucket Island in 2016. He pleaded not guilty and the charge was later dropped.
The actor is also reportedly set to have a $40 million civil lawsuit dismissed because his accuser, who claimed the actor sexually assaulted him at 14-years-old — in a case similar to Rapp’s — decided against identifying himself.
