Guy Pearce became emotional while reflecting on how Kevin Spacey allegedly preyed on him on set of their show, “LA Confidential.”
The “Brutalist” star recalled brushing off Spacey’s alleged advances in an interview on the Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast Monday.
“Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing,” he remembered telling himself, adding, “I did that for five months.”
The “Memento” actor, 57, further stated that he was “sort of scared” of Spacey, calling him an allegedly “aggressive man.”
“He’s extremely charming and brilliant at what he does — really impressive, etc. He holds a room remarkably,” Pearce said. “But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question.”
Pearce recalled filming on location in Los Angeles one time when he told his then-wife, Kate Mestitz, how uncomfortable Spacey, now 65, made him feel.
“The only days I feel safe are the days when [Simon Baker] is on set because I’m dumped like a hot potato, and [Kevin] focuses on [Simon] because he was 10 times prettier than I am,” Pearce said he told Kate, whom he was married to from 1997 to 2015.
Pearce said he didn’t realize the traumatic impact of Spacey’s alleged sexual misconduct until the “House of Cards” actor’s career declined following an influx of allegations in 2017 amid the #MeToo movement.
“I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop,” Pearce shared of his reaction to the headlines on Spacey.
“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,” he said, getting choked up. “That was a really incredible wake-up call.”
Pearce briefly addressed Spacey’s alleged inappropriate behavior shortly after accusations against his former co-star began making headlines a few years ago.
He called Spacey a “handsy guy” in a 2018 interview with Australian talk show host Andrew Denton.
“I very much understand that it’s too sensitive a topic to be brushed off,” he said at the time.
In a follow-up statement, Pearce clarified that he “wasn’t sexually assaulted or molested” by Spacey but that he was “made to feel uncomfortable.”
“I addressed and handled the situation when it took place, hence my regret at making it public now,” he added at the time.
Pearce didn’t elaborate on what exactly occurred between him and Spacey in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, but shared that he and his former co-star have since “had a couple of confrontations” that “got ugly.”
He also reflected on his past comments about Spacey in the 2018 interview, saying that he was in a “weird position” of not wanting to share his personal experience while also not wanting Spacey to “get away with what he gets away with.”
“I just try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is,” Pearce said.
In 2017, actor Anthony Rapp came forward with claims that Spacey made sexual advances on him at a party when he was just 14 in 1986. Rapp sued Spacey but the actor was found not liable. Several more actors came forward with sexual misconduct allegations — all of which Spacey denied.
In 2023, Spacey was acquitted of all nine charges of sexual assault by a British jury.
“I am humbled by the outcome,” Spacey said at the time.
A rep for Spacey did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.