Latest news with #OldVicTheatre
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
What has Kevin Spacey done to his face? Disgraced actor sparks plastic surgery rumors at Cannes
Kevin Spacey has sparked plastic surgery rumors as he made an appearance during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival this week. The disgraced actor, 65 - who sparked outrage for receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award just months after fresh sexual abuse allegations - could be seen posing with an award at the Better World Fund Gala Dinner on Tuesday. He accepted the honor for Excellence in Film and Television, although the gala is not an official part of the annual French film festival. As Spacey walked the red carpet at the event, he looked noticeably different with a taught, plump face. The House Of Cards alum donned a classic black suit as well as a white dress shirt and dark purple bowtie. The last time Kevin stopped by the Cannes Film Festival was nearly 10 years earlier while promoting his 2016 movie The Awakening. It comes two years after the actor was cleared of sexual assault allegations against four men during a U.K. trial in 2023. However, earlier this year in February the star was hit with another sexual abuse claim by Ruari Cannon and also two organizations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London. Before the gala officially commenced on Tuesday, Spacey expressed: 'I've heard from so many of my friends, colleagues and co-stars in the last week since this award was announced that I feel surrounded by support,' per Reuters. In regards to making a comeback in the industry, he also told reporters, 'I'm glad to be working.' The Oscar winner garnered a Lifetime Achievement Award at Cannes for his 'impact on cinema in the arts.' Kevin was 'recognized not only for his decades of artistic brilliance but also his enduring impact on cinema and the arts,' according to a statement made by the fund. The gala is not an official part of the French film festival but the Carlton Hotel plays host to much of the activities during the prestigious event in Cannes. Since 2017, more than 30 men have accused the two-time Oscar-winning actor of sexual assault or inappropriate behavior, which led to Netflix axing his role on House of Cards. In regards to making a comeback in the industry, he also told reporters, 'I'm glad to be working'; seen above in House Of Cards In July 2023, the American Beauty star was found not guilty of assaulting four men after a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, in one of the UK's most high-profile #MeToo trials. The decision to celebrate Spacey by Better World Fund, a charity which aims to make a 'positive impact on the world,' has sparked outrage, with many calling it a 'disgrace' to the MeToo movement. One person on X wrote: 'Abusive men in our society are never "cancelled" - honestly losing my mind Cannes.' Another added: 'Cannes sh**s the bed every year. Their commitment to being the worst festival and a safe haven for men who belong in hell is unmatched.' While one person wrote: 'Kevin Spacey, Ezra Miller, Shia Labeouf and every other Hollywood abuser known to mankind prancing around Cannes but somehow nude and voluminous dresses were the real problem.' It comes months after the actor was hit with another sexual abuse claim, court records show - 18 months after he was cleared of a series of criminal charges. Ruari Cannon is suing Mr Spacey at the High Court, as well as two organizations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London. Dushal Mehta, of law firm Fieldfisher, confirmed that he had issued a claim on behalf of Mr Cannon, and also said that he had waived his anonymity in the claim. No details of the allegations involved are currently available. Spacey was previously acquitted in criminal proceedings of several sexual offences alleged by four men between 2001 and 2013. One of the men, who cannot be identified, has also sued Mr Spacey over his claims he was sexually assaulted by the actor and suffered 'psychiatric damage', which the actor denies. The actor has denied all allegations of inappropriate behavior and criminal wrongdoing. Spacey's Academy Awards were for best supporting actor for The Usual Suspects in 1996 and best actor in 2000 for American Beauty, which also secured him a Bafta for leading actor. Last April, the actor appeared to dismiss claims of inappropriate behavior in Channel 4's documentary as he praised the men in the show for their 'great acting.' The two-part series came nine months after Spacey was cleared of nine sexual assault charges and looked at fresh claims against him made by several men, 'almost all of whom have never spoken before.' It is said to take a 'forensic look at a man who was once one of the most admired and respected actors in the world.' But Kevin seemed to disregard the show as a work of fiction in a statement given to entertainment magazine Variety. He said: 'I'm honored to be starring in my first film with Warner Brothers in many years. I hope the Academy takes note of some of the great acting by the lesser-known cast.' In May 2024, he thanked his fellow actors for defending him amidst the sexual abuse allegations. A raft of A-listers - including Liam Neeson and Sharon Stone - rallied around the Oscar-winning star to call for an end to his 'seven-year exile.' The American Beauty actor went on NewsNation with Chris Cuomo to express his gratitude for the support he received from colleagues. 'I'm enormously gratified that friends of mine who reached out to me and that I've been speaking to for your years now have been motivated by this documentary that was put out.' Fresh allegations were made against him in the Channel 4 bombshell documentary - and Spacey accused the broadcaster of ' having an agenda' in deciding to go ahead with airing its two-part film, Spacey Unmasked. The documentary featured previously unheard testimonies about the actor's alleged inappropriate behavior. In an interview with former GB News presenter Dan Wootton, he commented on claims made in the Channel 4 documentary. While accepting he may at times have behaved inappropriately in the past, he denied his behavior was illegal. Spacey has been
Irish Times
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Brightening Air at the Old Vic review: Conor McPherson's outstanding new play turns convention on its head
The Brightening Air Old Vic Theatre, London ★★★★★ The Brightening Air, a new play by Conor McPherson , the writer best known for haunting works that blend the numinous and the normal in dingy, drink-soaked Irish rooms, begins where most plays end: with the descent of a curtain. This is apt for a production that reconfigures theatrical devices and Irish folk tales to explore how we cope when our dreams collide with reality. The play, a nod to Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, is set in a crumbling house that one wouldn't want to live in at the best of times, let alone in Sligo in the 1980s. Yet that's where we find the emotionally gnarled Stephen ( Brian Gleeson ) and his brash sister, Billie (Rosie Sheehy), mucking along in the family home and insulating each other from the world. They're helped occasionally by a sturdy local lad, Brendan (Eimhin FitzGerald Doherty), who likes Billie despite her best efforts. The siblings' not-quite-peace is disturbed by the arrival of Uncle Pierre ( Seán McGinley ), a newly blind, 'more or less excommunicated' priest, and their older brother, Desmond ( Chris O'Dowd ), who owns a string of successful cafes and wears the leather jacket to prove it. Pierre has his long-suffering help, Elizabeth ( Derbhle Crotty ), in tow, while Desmond has unwisely come with both his wife, Lydia (Hannah Morrish), and Freya (Aisling Kearns), his 19-year-old employee and lover. READ MORE The Brightening Air: Chris O'Dowd and Hannah Morrish. Photograph: Manuel Harlan As if the arrival of unwanted family members weren't bad enough, the interlopers seem to have designs on the house. By early afternoon the group is drinking, swearing inventively and talking about dead relatives. It's an Irish play, all right. Yet The Brightening Air, which McPherson also directs, is far from conventional. Beneath the tropes (there's a dramatic reading of a previously undisclosed will), mundane familial bitterness (recriminations over which sibling refused to install a downstairs toilet) and hilarious one-liners (most of them unprintable), the play explores the mysteries of living. The Brightening Air: Rosie Sheehy and Hannah Morrish. Photograph: Manuel Harlan It asks why people decide to stay or go, why we love those who don't love us back, what we inherit from family and whether we can shake off 'the life that's on us'. Above all, the play is interested in how ordinary people cope with not knowing the answer to those questions. Some rely on the uncanny, like Lydia, who hopes that water from an enchanted well will make her husband love her again. Others, with no stories left to tell themselves, decide that to live is simply 'to forget'. The Brightening Air, by Conor McPherson, at the Old Vic in London. Photograph: Manuel Harlan The pervasive sense of a dream just out of reach is amplified by Rae Smith's beautiful, sparse set, made up of diaphanous fabrics and scattered furniture, and by Mark Henderson's subtle lighting design that eventually creates nothing out of something. The excellent ensemble cast delights and devastates throughout, and the occasionally stilted direction of the early scenes never really threatens the piece as a whole. In one wistful moment Elizabeth says that life is like ice, and people use pleasure to skate over the pain. This play certainly doesn't. The Brightening Air may glide along, propelled by laughter and comforting theatrical conventions, but McPherson always insists that we look below the surface. The Brightening Air is at the Old Vic , London, until Saturday, June 14th
Sky News
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Kevin Spacey tells Guy Pearce to 'grow up' after claiming he was 'targeted' by House of Cards actor
Kevin Spacey has issued a strongly-worded response to allegations he "targeted" Guy Pearce, telling the former co-star "you're not a victim" and "grow up". On Tuesday, Pearce spoke about the 1997 film LA Confidential, choking up while alleging Spacey had pursued him while they were shooting the Oscar-winning film. He told The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast: "I was sort of scared of Kevin because he's quite an aggressive man. "He's extremely charming and brilliant at what he does... but I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question." Pearce, 57, did describe details of the alleged encounters but said he had a "couple of confrontations with Kevin" that "got ugly" since filming LA Confidential. Spacey, 65, has spent years fighting off allegations of sexual harassment and assault, all of which he has denied. Although he has admitted to " being too handsy" in the past. The House of Cards star and Oscar winner described having "been through hell and back" in a video response on X, in which he denied Pearce's claims and criticised him for going to the media. "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," Spacey said in the video. "Guy, you need to grow up. You are not a victim." Spacey then posed a series of questions to Pearce: "Did you also, by the way, tell the press that a year after we shot LA Confidential you flew to Savannah, Georgia - while I was shooting Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil - just to spend time with me?" In 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexual assault. Spacey was found not liable during the subsequent civil lawsuit. He was also accused of groping an 18-year-old at a Massachusetts bar in 2016. Charges were dropped in 2019 after the accuser refused to give evidence. In 2023, Spacey was also acquitted by a UK jury of sexually assaulting four men while working as the artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre. Last week an additional civil lawsuit was filed in the UK against Spacey and London's Old Vic alleging sexual abuse.
NBC News
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Guy Pearce chokes up while saying Kevin Spacey 'targeted' him during filming of 'L.A. Confidential'
Guy Pearce says that Kevin Spacey"targeted" him while the actors worked together on the set of " L.A. Confidential." The Oscar-nominated star of " The Brutalist" was a guest on The Hollywood Reporter's"Awards Chatter" podcast released Monday, where he choked up while recounting being allegedly pursued by Spacey during filming of the 1997 Academy Award-winning film. "I was sort of scared of Kevin because he's quite an aggressive man," Pearce, 57, said. "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.' Pearce did not disclose the details or dates of which the alleged encounters occurred. He added that he had a 'couple of confrontations with Kevin' that 'got ugly' since filming 'L.A. Confidential.' A law firm representing Spacey did not immediately return an NBC News request for comment. Spacey, 65, has spent the better part of the last decade fighting off allegations of sexual harassment and assault, all of which he has denied. In 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Rapp sued Spacey in federal civil court in 2020. Spacey was found not liable on all counts. The disgraced "House of Cards" star and Oscar winner was also accused of groping an 18-year-old at a Massachusetts bar in 2016. Charges were dropped in 2019 after the accuser refused to testify. Spacey was acquitted again last year after a U.K. jury found him not guilty of sexually assaulting four men while working as the artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre. The accusations dated from 2004 to 2013. An additional lawsuit alleging sexual abuse was filed against Spacey and Old Vic Theatre in the U.K. last week. In the Monday interview, Pearce recalled the moment he first heard about the allegations against Spacey in 2017. 'I was in London working on something, and I heard this and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn't stop," Pearce said. "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 I suppose.' Pearce first suggested he had unwanted encounters with Spacey on an Australian talk show in 2018, calling Spacey "a handsy guy." Shortly afterward, he issued a statement clarifying that he "wasn't sexually assaulted or molested, I was made to feel uncomfortable." The Australian actor said that today he is "more honest about it now," but still hesitates to call himself a victim. '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 said.
The Independent
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Brian Cox fiercely defends ‘old friend' Kevin Spacey, says he ‘never found him abusive'
Brian Cox has come out in fierce support of his 'old friend' Kevin Spacey, arguing that the downfall of his career should never have happened. Once one of the most recognizable faces and names in Hollywood, the House of Cards star, 65, was exiled from the industry in 2017 after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual abuse in 1986. Spacey would have been 26 at the time, while Rapp was 14. Rapp's allegations were later dismissed by a Manhattan court in 2022. Spacey has since faced several more allegations of sexual misconduct over the years, all of which he has either denied or insisted was consensual. Addressing Spacey's controversies in a new interview with the i, Cox, who co-starred with the Oscar-winning actor in the 1994 sports adventure Iron Will, said: 'Kevin is an old friend of mine. All right, Kevin did certain things…' 'We all used to worry about Kevin,' the 78-year-old, Emmy-winning Succession star admitted. 'But at the same time, you don't destroy a man's career because of what he's…,' Cox argued, trailing off. 'He also did a lot of extraordinary work. And I find that really petty, and I just don't like it. It's sneaky and petty and not right.' The Scottish actor continued, saying that he 'never found Kevin Spacey abusive.' 'He was misguided, certainly, in terms of his sexuality,' Cox said, 'but that's to do with him coming to terms with his own sexuality and how he's dealt with that, and the dilemma that it's caused in his life. And I think that one is to try to understand where he's coming from, and what that's about.' Spacey, who came out as gay in 2017 in response to Rapp's allegations, was later accused of 'insensitively' using his coming out as a way to 'disguise' his alleged behavior. Cox further raged at the concept of cancel culture, saying: 'We've got to an age now, where people are going, 'Oh, that's bad, he's out, boom, he's canceled.' What do you mean 'canceled?' How dare you cancel anybody?' The Manhunter actor joins a slew of other A-listers, including Sharon Stone and Liam Neeson, who have previously called for Spacey to be allowed to resume his acting career. In 2023, Spacey stood trial in the U.K. after four men alleged that he had sexually assaulted them in separate incidents over the period between 2001 and 2013. He was again cleared of all nine offenses. Earlier this week, Spacey was hit with another sexual abuse claim. Ruari Cannon is suing Spacey as well as two organizations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London, with court records showing the claim was filed Wednesday. No details of the allegations involved are currently available.
