Kevin Spacey Awards: Europe at odds with Hollywood over actors' return

After receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in Turin Last yearAmerican actor Kevin Spacey is set to receive several awards this month.

It was announced that he won an award for his vocal performance in the thriller Controlawarded by the Folkestone Independent Film Awards in the UK.

The actor does not appear on screen in Gene Fallaizes' film, his first film after his acquittal last yearin which Spacey plays a man who hijacks a government official's car to get revenge. The role is entirely vocal.

The awards ceremony will take place in Folkestone, Kent, on July 20. It is not yet known whether Kevin Spacey will attend.

Spacey will, however, attend a ceremony (and perform a concert) the following day in Italy, where he will receive a lifetime achievement award in Taormina, Sicily. The award is part of the Nations Awards – and is not related to the Taormina film festival.

“Kevin Spacey is a timeless monument in the history of cinema and theatre, who unquestionably deserves the chance to resume his career,” said the prize's organisers, Michel Curatolo and Marco Fallanca.

“Taormina is one of the oldest Italian cities where cinema takes place and it is a real privilege to witness a preview of the performance of one of the greatest actors of our time. His boundless talent is missed every day by his audience and the film industry and we are extremely proud to stand alongside such an outstanding artist,” added Curatolo and Fallanca.

The European reception is at odds with that of Hollywood, which has largely blacklisted Spacey following numerous allegations and trials of sexual misconduct since 2017.

Actor Anthony Rapp was the first to claim that Spacey made unwanted sexual advances toward him, which Rapp said happened in 1986, when he was 14 and Spacey was 26.

Following Rapp's allegations, Spacey was quickly dropped from a number of high-profile film and television projects, including the final season of Netflix's House of Cards and replaced in the lead role in Ridley Scott's film. All the money in the world by Christopher Plummer.

Spacey has been found unreliable in a 2022 U.S. assault and battery case filed by Rapp, and not guilty of seven counts of sexual assault and two other counts of sexual offenses a trial in the UK last yearHowever, Spacey faces a new civil lawsuit in the UK in 2025, brought by a man who claims the actor sexually assaulted him, causing him psychiatric harm and financial loss.

The two-time Oscar winner has made numerous attempts to revive his career abroad, including in Italy, where he made his first film after the Franco Neros allegations. The Man Who Drew Godthe premiere of which is scheduled for 2022.

Spacey recently broke down during an interview with Piers Morgan last month, claiming he lost his Baltimore home, was nearly bankrupted by mounting legal bills and his lack of work following the allegations. He admitted to Morgan that he had pushed the boundaries by being too tactile with people, but said he didn't know at the time that these were unwanted advances.

Although his return to the screen has so far been unsuccessful, several prominent voices have spoken out in Spacey's defense.

Last month, Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson and Stephen Fry made statements to The telegraph a newspaper demanding that the actor be allowed to resume his acting career.

“I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work,” Stone said. “He’s a genius. He’s so elegant and funny, generous to a fault and knows more about our business than most of us will ever know.”

“Kevin is a good man and a man of character,” Neeson said. “Personally, our industry needs him and we miss him greatly.”

The statements of support were prompted by the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary, Spacey Unmasked, which featured testimonies from several men who claimed Spacey had behaved inappropriately towards them. The men making the accusations were not the same men who had filed complaints with the British police.

Fry offered his support, saying that “devoting an entire documentary to accusations that simply do not amount to crimes… How can that be considered proportionate and justified?”

Fry added: “It is certainly wrong to continue to sully a reputation based on assertions and rhetoric rather than evidence and facts. Unless I am missing something, I think he has paid the price.”

Additional sources The Telegraph, Variety