Kevin Spacey to make a comeback in first film role following sexual assault allegations

Kevin Spacey has booked his first film role since sexual assault allegations surfaced nearly four years ago.

The Italian film, called L’uomo Che Disegno Dio – or The Man Who Drew God – will be directed by Franco Nero. It will shoot in Italy and initial reports had it that Nero’s wife, Vanessa Redgrave, would star in the film as well, reports which Redgrave has corrected in a statement that stated that “while there have been discussions about the possibility of her joining the cast, she will not appear in the film.”

However, Nero has reportedly said that he’s “very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film. I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”

Spacey has not commented on the role.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor faced multiple accusations and lawsuits over alleged sexual misconduct in recent years.

The allegations began in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp said in an interview with BuzzFeed that Spacey had made a sexual advance towards him when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. In a statement, Spacey said he did not remember the alleged encounter, adding: “If I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour.”

In the same statement, Spacey also came out as a gay man.

He went on to part ways with Netflix’s House of Cards, after at least 20 young men reported alleged sexual misconduct by Spacey at the London theater, the Old Vic, between 1995 and 2013. Investigators have not said whether they will bring criminal charges against Spacey in connection with those accusations, according to The Associated Press.

In 2018, Spacey was charged with indecent assault stemming from an alleged incident with a teenager on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, during the summer of 2016. He pleaded not guilty, but that charge was later dropped, and the alleged victim in that case also withdrew a civil lawsuit against the actor.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against Spacey in two separate sexual assault allegations, after the statute of limitations had run out in one case and the second alleged victim, a massage therapist, died. A lawsuit against Spacey involving the massage therapist was also dismissed.

An anonymous man filed a lawsuit against Spacey in New York last year, alleging the actor sexually abused him in the 1980s when he was 14. Earlier this month, a judge ruled the man can’t proceed anonymously in court.

Spacey last appeared on the big screen in Billionaire Boys Club in 2018. The film reportedly took in a record-low gross of $618 from 11 theaters in several states during its opening weekend.

He has kept a somewhat low profile, beyond tweeting out Christmas Eve video messages for the past three years. In 2019, he appeared in character from House of Cards while suggesting that fans should “kill people with kindness.” Last year, he told people suffering that “you are not alone.”