Kevin Spacey is set to make his return to acting with an Italian film titled L’uomo Che Disegnò Dio directed by Franco Nero, reported Variety. Speaking to Variety, the film's producer Louis Nero confirmed that Spacey came on board for a cameo role as a police detective. Franco will be the lead in the film.
This is the first time Spacey will appear on the big screen since multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct came out against him in late 2017.
As the allegations against him continued to rise, Spacey was removed from his role in Netflix's House of Cards. His character was quickly killed off and Robin Wright took on the role of the lead for the show's final season.
ABC News reported the casting on 22 May and added that the film also stars Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero’s wife. Louis confirmed the Variety that she will appear in the film as a piano teacher for Franco Nero's role, if she can travel to Italy.
Franco Nero said to ABC News, “I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film. I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.” The film is a low-budged indie production follows “the rise and fall of a blind artist who has the extraordinary gift of making true-to-life portraits just by listening to human voices," as featured in Filmitalia.
Allegations and Lawsuits
In October 2017, Buzzfeed published a report about allegations by actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance towards him when he was 14. Since then, more than 30 people came forward with their stories ranging from misconduct to sexual assault.
In November 2017, the London's Vic Theatre, where Spacey worked as an artistic director (2004-2015) announced that they'd set up a hotline to investigate him. They reported receiving 20 allegations of 'a range of inappropriate behaviour' towards young men above 18.
A 2018 lawsuit against him for indecent assault involving a teenage boy was later withdrawn. Two cases reviewed by Los Angeles officials were dismissed because the statute of limitations expired, and the death of the accuser respectively.
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