Actor Randy Quaid says he was raped at the age of five

Randy Quaid says he was raped by his neighbour at the age of five. Photo / Getty

The actor Randy Quaid has revealed in graphic detail his alleged rape as a five-year-old boy.

Quaid, who starred in Independence Day and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in The Last Detail, said he was motivated to come forward with his story after seeing others in Hollywood share theirs, the Daily Mail reports.

Describing the alleged rape, Quaid - now 67 - explained that the perpetrator was a 14-year-old neighbour he thought of as a friend.

He wrote on Twitter that he often played games with his friend when his parents were away, but on one occasion in 1956 the friend told him they could only play if they went to the bathroom first.

While there, Quaid said, he was 'brutally raped' by the boy, who threatened him with a glass bottle of rubbing alcohol.

He explained that he then ran to his mother nearby, who told a policeman that lived across the road what had happened.

But he did not specify what happened afterwards.

Explaining his reason for going public, he wrote: "With all the other victims of abuse coming forward now is a good time to tell this story and join others dealing with their own, similar Hollywood encounters that must to be addressed and the perpetrators exposed for their evil smarminess.

"Time to drain the Hollywood swamp and get rid of these creeps."

With all the other victims of abuse coming forward now is a good time to tell this story and join others dealing with their own, similar....

— Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) November 2, 2017

Hollywood encounters that must to be addressed and the perpetrators exposed for their evil smarminess. Time to drain the Hollywood swamp...

— Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) November 2, 2017

and get rid of these creeps.

— Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) November 2, 2017

He also said the "trauma from the experience" may have caused him to become an actor.

"Immersing myself in a character is a means of channeling the rage, removing me from myself essentially allowing me to utilize the emotional baggage that's piled up inside through the years," he tweeted.

"Many actors have experienced severe emotional trauma in their lives to one degree or another.

"For us, acting is more than just a career, it's a way of coping, a welcomed survival mechanism."

He added: "I don't speak much about what happened that day so long ago. I grew up believing the incident hadn't affected me but I realize as I grow older that it did debilitate me in ways not so evident as to make me fully aware of the consequences of the rape on a very deep, personal level.

"I suppressed my feelings and as a result I became very shy, placing too much trust in people undeserving of my trust, my instincts for self-preservation blunted; I was left feeling vulnerable, and the vulnerability in turn manifests itself in personality and behavior, which does not go unnoticed by vicious Hollywood predators where I continue to be taken advantage of by these monsters."