Kevin Spacey has had a promising acting career in the past. He started out on Broadway in the classic Eugene O’Neill play Long Day’s Journey Into Night, got Oscar recognition in films like The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, and was gaining Emmy recognition for his starring role in House of Cards. However, Kevin Spacey's career headed downhill when he was accused of making sexual advances toward actor Anthony Rapp back in 1986. Despite the sexual assault allegations and recently being charged in four counts of assault in the U.K., the House of Cards actor is still trying to make a comeback with his new film at Cannes Film Festival.
Following the sexual assault allegations, Kevin Spacey’s career as an actor was hitting pariah status. Netflix cut ties with the Oscar-winning actor by having his co-star Robin Wright become the new lead of House of Cards. Plus, Ridley Scott removed Kevin Spacey from his true story crime thriller All the Money in the World and replaced him with Christopher Plummer. With the recent charge he’s faced of multiple counts of sexual assault in the U.K., Kevin Spacey is trying to get his career back in the one place it could happen- the Cannes film festival.
According to Rolling Stone, a pair of film executives are trying to sell distribution rights to Kevin Spacey’s comeback film Peter Five Eight. Vantage Media International, a Hollywood-based company that sells movies mostly to foreign markets, screened a print of the film to possible prospects willing to take the risk on this controversial figure. The President of VMI says that even though it is very early on in the deal-making, it’s considered a “quality film.” Peter Five Eight producer Michael Hall has said he prefers to focus on the talent of Kevin Spacey instead of the controversy of him.
While Hollywood doesn’t seem to forgive those who were involved in the #MeToo movement, it seems that foreign markets can be more lenient with these actors. For example, James Francos’ corrupt-cop thriller Mace will be hitting Cannes despite Franco having his own abuse allegations where five women accused him of sexually exploitive behavior. There were also allegations about sexual misconduct at his acting school where female students said they were forced to participate in graphic sex scenes on camera in front of the class. This resulted in Franco paying out more than $2 million in settlement money.
Kevin Spacey also has another upcoming film for Cannes where he will play a priest in Gateway to the West about Genghis Khan’s grandson. It looks like Europe may provide a safe haven or a possible road to redemption for canceled actors. While Europe may provide redemption, we shall see if Kevin Spacey will ever get his audience back in the U.S.
