Guy Pearce Says Kevin Spacey ‘Targeted Me’ While Filming L.A. Confidential – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterThe ‘Brutalist’ actor got candid about how the #MeToo movement led to a wake-up call: “I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop. I think it really dawned on me the impact that had occurred.”
By
Chris Gardner
An emotional and reflective Guy Pearce got choked up during a new interview while recalling unpleasant experiences working with Kevin Spacey on Curtis Hanson’s classic 1997 film L.A. Confidential, and the “wake-up call” that left him sobbing in London more than 20 years later when he realized the impact those encounters had on him.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter‘s executive awards editor Scott Feinberg on a new episode of his Awards Chatter podcast, Pearce, who is Oscar-nominated for his critically acclaimed turn in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, opens up for the first time at length about Spacey and the tidal wave of sexual misconduct allegations that sidelined the House of Cards actor’s career.
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He talked about it only briefly when he called Spacey “a handsy guy” to Australian talk show host Andrew Denton in 2018, though he quickly clarified his comments. “I very much understand that it’s too sensitive a topic to be brushed off. Although I wasn’t sexually assaulted or molested, I was made to feel uncomfortable,” he said in a follow-up statement. “I addressed and handled the situation when it took place, hence my regret at making it public now.”
Pearce is far more open today, but still choosing his words carefully. Pearce noted how he was reluctant to use the word victim “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.”
That said, Pearce responded to Spacey’s alleged advances on the set of L.A. Confidential by brushing it off and thinking, “Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing,” he said. “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.”
Hanson’s neo-noir L.A. Confidential follows three Los Angeles policemen as they investigate a series of murders amid departmental corruption in the 1950s. Pearce played one of the cops, Ed Exley, opposite fellow leads Spacey and Russell Crowe. While he remains on good terms with fellow Aussie Crowe, “a great mate of mine,” the same can’t be said of Spacey.
While filming on location in Los Angeles, Pearce was in town with his then-wife, Kate. He recalled telling her that “the only days I feel safe are the days when [Simon Baker] is on set because I’m dumped like a hot potato, and [Kevin] focuses on [Simon] because he was 10 times prettier than I am.”
It wasn’t until decades later that Pearce was able to full process what happened. In October 2017, at a time when Hollywood was on the verge of being upended amid the #MeToo movement, veteran actor Anthony Rapp came forward with claims that Spacey made sexual advances at a party in New York in 1986 when he was 14. (Rapp later sued, but Spacey was found not liable.) A wave of accusations followed, extending from film sets and production locations to the Old Vic Theatre, where Spacey had served as the artist director.
Pearce said he caught the headlines. “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 dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sort of brushed it off and how I had either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever. That was a really incredible wake-up call,” he explained, his voice breaking with emotion at one point.
Though he didn’t specify the date or the details of what occurred, Pearce noted that he has since “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin” that “got ugly.” Looking back on the talk show reveal, Pearce said he found himself in the “weird position” of not wanting to focus on his personal experience with Spacey and yet, “I don’t want him to get away with what he gets away with.”
He’s implementing a new strategy these days: “I just try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is.”
THR has reached out to a rep for Spacey for response to Pearce’s comments. The actor responded on Tuesday via a video on X, telling Pearce, “grow up, you are not a victim.”
Spacey has long denied any claims of misconduct. In addition to being cleared in the Rapp case, Spacey was acquitted of all nine charges of sexual assault by a British jury in 2023, bringing an end to a years-long battle that derailed his once-illustrious Hollywood career. “I am humbled by the outcome,” he said at the time.
In his typical Awards Chatter style, Feinberg’s interview with Pearce was a deep dive into the actor’s career. It covered Pearce’s early days in Australia, achieving local fame on soaps like Neighbours and Home and Away, followed by a breakout role as a drag queen in the cult classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He then became a go-to talent for top auteurs after another breakout turn in Christopher Nolan’s Memento, followed by decades of high-profile work, all leading up to his current Oscar nomination for The Brutalist. It’s worth pointing out that the A24 film finds Pearce playing Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr., a wealthy American industrialist who sexually assaults a central male character. A chunk of the Awards Chatter interview focuses on his work in the epic film, which is nominated for 10 Oscars and finds Pearce starring opposite fellow nominees Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones.
Listen to Pearce’s full Awards Chatter interview here. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
