Kevin Spacey has landed a new role in a new historical drama five years after facing accusations of sexual assault and misconduct.
The 62-year-old, who is known for titles such as The Usual Suspects, House of Cards and Horrible Bosses, was accused in 2017 by at least 20 young men who claimed they had faced alleged sexual misconduct by Spacey at the Old Vic theatre in London between 1995 and 2013.
Spacey has denied the claims and has not been charged for those accusations, though in 2018 he was charged with indecent assault stemming from an alleged incident with a teenager in Massachusetts in 2016. The actor pleaded not guilty and the charge was later dropped.
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The actor is now set to star in the drama 1242 – Gateway to the West; his biggest feature to date since he faced the accusations, Deadline reports.
Spacey will be joined in the film by Eric Roberts, Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, Jeremy Neumark-Jones and Genevieve Florence, with directing by Peter Soos.
1242 - Gateway to the West will detail the story of Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu Khan, who was elected commander in chief of the western part of the Mongol empire. Khan was a skilled commander and was given responsibility for the invasion of Europe, but in 1242 he is confronted by a spiritual man and a castle in Hungary.
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The confrontation halts Khan's invasion of Europe, with the events ultimately leading to his downfall.
The film is not the first Spacey has been cast in since the accusations; in 2021 he landed a role in an Italian film titled L'uomo Che Disegno Dio (The Man Who Drew God), directed by Franco Nero.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly following the casting of Spacey, Nero said the accusations against the actor were not an issue when it came to the hiring process.
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He commented at the time: "In Italy, we don't know details on everything, so we don't speak about what we don't know about. I cannot speak about these things. I only know that Kevin is a great actor. That was my concern, and no more than that."
Spacey lost his role on the popular Netflix show House of Cards when creators wrote him out of the show in the wake of the accusations.
Last year it emerged Spacey had been ordered to pay nearly $31m (£23.2m) to the studio that made the show due to claims it lost millions of dollars after having already started work on the next season.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: US News, Film and TV, Celebrity, Netflix
Emily Brown