Guy Pearce claims he was "targeted" by Kevin Spacey on the set of L.A. Confidential and he only felt safe on set when a prettier co-star was filming too. Photo / Getty Images
Guy Pearce claims he was "targeted" by Kevin Spacey on the set of L.A. Confidential and he only felt safe on set when a prettier co-star was filming too. Photo / Getty Images
Hollywood stalwart actor Guy Pearce has claimed he was “targeted” by Kevin Spacey.
The Brutalist actor previously declared the former House of Cards star - whose career went into freefall after he was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of men - was “handsy” when they worked together on 1997’s L.A. Confidential.
Though he later stressed he “wasn’t sexually assaulted or molested”, he’s now told how he was “sort of scared” of Spacey and was a “victim” on some ways.
Explaining his reluctance to describe himself as a victim, the Australian told the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast: “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.”
Pearce previously said that Spacey was “handsy” when they worked together on 1997’s L.A. Confidential. Photo / Getty Images
He added: “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.”
The 57-year-old actor was with then-wife Kate Mestitz filming the movie in Los Angeles and recalled telling her he only felt “safe” if a “prettier” co-star was on set too.
He told her: “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.”
Despite brushing off the alleged incident at the time, in 2017, when Anthony Rapp came forward to accuse Spacey of making sexual advances towards him when he was just 14, prompting a flood of further allegations, Pearce “broke down and sobbed” when he realised how much he had been affected.
He said: “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.”
The former Neighbours actor admitted he has since “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin” that “got ugly” but didn’t share any details.
Spacey was acquitted of all of the nine sexual assault charges he faced in the UK in 2023. Photo / Getty Images
Spacey responded to Pearce’s comments, labelling them part of a “victim narrative”.
He wrote on X, “We worked together a long time ago. If I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me. We could have had that conversation, but instead, you’ve decided to speak to the press, who are now, of course, coming after me, because they would like to know what my response is to the things that you said.
“You really want to know what my response is? Grow up.”
Spacey claimed Pearce travelled to Georgia the year after L.A. Confidential was filmed “just to spend time with me”.
“I apologise that I didn’t get the message that you didn’t like spending time with me.”
He concluded by saying he was “happy” to speak to Pearce “anytime, anyplace”.
