Kevin Spacey “totally accepted” his career decline following the sexual assault allegations made against him.
The 64-year-old actor – who was cleared of seven charges of sexual assault, one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity by a court in London on Wednesday (26.07.23) – lost his job on ‘House of Cards’ and was dropped from various other projects when the claims were made but director Gene Fallaize, who made the “risky move” to cast the award-winning star in his film ‘Control’ in November, revealed the star understood the realities of the industry.
Gene, who never spoke directly to Kevin about the legal case against him, told Sky News: “There were indirect things as we were talking about how his life had changed.
“We talked about ‘House of Cards’, which I didn’t know whether to bring up because he was let go from the show, but he spoke quite freely and openly about those things and was obviously very proud of ‘House of Cards’.
“I think he was very proud of his acting past, but totally accepted the situation — his words at one point were that he was a jobbing actor.”
The 38-year-old filmmaker believes the ‘American Beauty’ star will be able to return to the previous heights of his career now the legal battle is behind him.
He said: “Just the response that I’ve experienced today — and I’m a tiny sliver of Kevin’s experiences — has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People that warned us of the risks when we were casting, who were saying, ‘Just be aware because this could impact us,’ they’ve all come forward today saying what genius casting it was. So, what I’ve experienced today alone, I think Kevin has a very good chance.”
Gene admitted he “absolutely knew” casting Kevin in a voice-only role as the thriller’s antagonist was a “risky move” but he’s proud he went ahead.
He said: “I discussed it at length with my producers about the pros and cons, we really weighed it out. It wasn’t an easy decision. But we think we made the best decision and it’s one we stand by. And today, that’s proven itself.”
