Guy Pearce Reflects on Working With Kevin Spacey: ‘He Targeted Me’ – Rolling Stone
By
Emily Zemler
Guy Pearce discussed his experience working with Kevin Spacey on the 1997 film L.A. Confidential, saying he “broke down and sobbed” years later when he realized what had transpired on set.
The actor previously briefly reflected on his time with Spacey in 2018 during an interview on an Australian talk show, calling Spacey “a handsy guy.” But in a new interview on the Hollywood Reporter‘s podcast Awards Chatter, Pearce went more in-depth on Spacey and his former co-star’s sexual misconduct accusations.
Speaking on the podcast, Pearce acknowledged that “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 sexual predators.”
He continued, “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. 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.”
During the film’s production in Los Angeles, Pearce said the only time he felt “safe” was when co-star Simon Baker was also on set since Spacey would re-direct his attention to Baker.
It wasn’t until “things came to light in 2017” that Pearce was able to fully comprehend that had happened, although he said he “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin post-that that got ugly.”
In 2017, actor Anthony Rapp came forward with accusations that Spacey made sexual advances at a party in New York in 1986 when he was 14. Numerous other accusations followed and Pearce was very aware of the headlines.
“I heard these stories about Kevin, sort of officially as news stories,” he recalled. “And I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop. 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 had sort of either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever. That was a really incredible wake up call, I suppose.”
Editor’s picks
The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time
The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time
That was in November 2017 and the following month Pearce said he went on the Australian talk show where he was asked about Spacey. “I just blurted it all out,” he said. “And of course then it all hit the press. I’m sort of 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.’” He added, “I just try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is.”
Despite numerous allegations, Spacey has been legally cleared of misconduct in two separate trials in the U.S. and the U.K. He also successfully defended himself against a lawsuit brought by Rapp.
Last May, the actor claimed that the #MeToo movement had “swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness.” He told Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, “I’m trying to show that I’ve listened. I’ve learned. I’ve got the memo. I feel very strongly that whatever mistakes I’ve made in my life, that I paid a price.”We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form.Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.
