Kevin Spacey tells Guy Pearce to ‘grow up’ after accusation he ‘targeted’ him on set

Kevin Spacey has told actor Guy Pearce to “grow up” and “you are not a victim” in a video after Pearce claimed Spacey had “targeted” him on set while filming LA Confidential.

Guy Pearce reflected on his experience working with Spacey on the 1997 crime thriller LA Confidential in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast on Saturday (15 February), claiming the 65-year-old actor had “targeted” him on set, and that he was “probably was a victim to a degree”.

“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 on the podcast.

“I did that thing that you do where you brush it off and go, ‘Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing.’ And I did that for five months. And, really, I was sort of scared of Kevin because he’s quite an aggressive man. He’s extremely charming and brilliant at what he does – really impressive, etc,” he continued.

“He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question.”

Pearce, 57, claimed during the film’s production he often felt uneasy around Spacey, and only felt “safe” when co-star Simon Baker was on set.

He had previously made a brief comment in 2018, referring to Spacey as “a handsy guy”, however he had not elaborated further.

Pearce explained that it wasn’t until “things came to light in 2017” that he really understood what had happened, although he “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin… that got ugly” in the years after the film was released.

In 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of making unwanted sexual advances toward him at a party in New York in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. The allegations led to multiple other claims of misconduct against Spacey, who has been cleared of all charges of sexual assault in separate trials in London and New York.

“I heard these stories about Kevin, sort of officially as news stories,” Pearce explained about the accusations in 2017.

“I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop. I think it really sort of dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sort of brushed it off and how I had sort of either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever.”

“That was a really incredible wake up call, I suppose,” he added.

Grow up, Guy Pearce. You are not a victim. pic.twitter.com/33paGTj4Aq

— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) February 18, 2025

Kevin Spacey responded to the allegations in a video on Twitter/X on Tuesday (18 February), telling Pearce he is “not a victim”.

“We worked together a long time ago,” he said in a video. “If I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me. 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. You really want to know what my response is? Grow up.”

Spacey claimed Pearce flew to Georgia after filming LA Confidential “just to spend time with me” while Spacey was filming another movie.

“I mean, did you tell the press that too, or does that not fit into the victim narrative you have going?” Spacey said.

The actor ended his video by saying: “You want to have a conversation? I’m happy to do so, anytime, anyplace. We can even do it here, live on X, if you like. I’ve got nothing to hide. But Guy – you need to grow up. You are not a victim.”

PinkNews has contacted Spacey’s representatives for comment.

Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.