Kevin Spacey ‘to play sex abuse investigator’ in acting comeback

New film marks Spacey’s first acting role since career came to a ‘grinding, screeching halt’ amid sexual misconduct allegations

Kevin Spacey is to make an acting comeback as a detective investigating a false claim of paedophilia.

The Oscar winner, who has been accused by multiple people of sexual misconduct, will star alongside Vanessa Redgrave in the Italian drama The Man Who Drew God, which will reportedly begin filming later this year.

Franco Nero, who is married to Redgrave and will also direct the film, plays a blind artist who is wrongly suspected of sexual abuse. Spacey will provide a cameo as a detective investigating the allegation.

Nero told ABC News that he is “very happy” that Spacey agreed to star in the film, adding: “I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”

The Man Who Drew God will mark Spacey’s first acting role in four years, after he was accused by at least 20 men of sexual misconduct at London’s Old Vic Theatre between 1995 and 2013. Other allegations against Spacey included a sexual assault claim by the actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that Spacey assaulted him when he was 14 years old.

Spacey has categorically denied all claims of sexual misconduct, and no charges have been brought against him.

The actor was dropped from his Netflix series House of Cards amid the allegations, and also had his scenes completely reshot in the 2017 thriller All the Time in the World. Christopher Plummer stepped in to replace Spacey in the film, and was subsequently nominated for an Oscar.

In 2020, Spacey said that experiencing his acting career coming to a “grinding, screeching halt” led him to a personal epiphany. “I only valued and defined myself through work, that’s who I was,” he said. “If that wasn’t going to be a possibility anymore then who am I? If all I’m left with is just me?”

Kevin Spacey in 2017 (Rochelle Brodin/Getty Images)

In April, it was reported that Spacey made a “surreal” courtroom appearance during a legal battle with the House of Cards production company Media Rights Capital. The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the actor “sprang up from his seat and performed a song-and-dance number”.

The magazine also claimed that Spacey is facing the possibility of criminal charges in London over allegations of sexual misconduct, plus an ongoing civil lawsuit from a sexual assault accuser.