In 2018, the actor Guy Pearce called Kevin Spacey – who has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and has admitted he had a ‘clumsy’ approach to men in the past – ‘a handsy guy’.

Now, Pearce has expanded on his previous allegations during an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, alleging that Spacey ‘targeted’ him on the set of the 1997 film LA Confidential. ‘I did that thing 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, et cetera. He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question.’

Pearce also admitted that he told his then wife that he felt safe on set when his co-star Simon Baker was present, because Spacey focused on Baker instead.

The actor, who is nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Brutalist, made his initial comments about Spacey in light of the #MeToo movement in 2017, which saw multiple allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against men in Hollywood. Pearce said the movement was ‘really an incredible wakeup call’ for him. Around this time Spacey faced accusations of making unwanted sexual advances at the actor Anthony Rapp at a party in New York in 1986 when Rapp was 14 years old. Spacey was cleared of misconduct and sexual assault in separate trials in the US and the UK and successfully defended himself against a lawsuit brought by Rapp.

Spacey was also accused of groping an 18-year-old at a Massachusetts bar in 2016, but charges were dropped in 2019 after the accuser refused to testify. Last year, the House of Cards actor was acquitted again after a UK 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 last week.

‘I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] 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.’

Pearce admitted that he struggles to identify as 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.’

Spacey has since responded to Pearce’s comments via a video posted to X. ‘We worked together a long time ago,’ he said. ‘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 it? Grow up.’

The Baby Driver actor then claimed that Pearce flew to Georgia the year after LA Confidential was shot ‘just to spend time with me’ while he was filming Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. ‘I mean, did you tell the press that too, or does that not fit into the victim narrative you have going?’ he continued. ‘I apologise that I didn’t get the message that you didn’t like spending time with me. Maybe there was another reason, I don’t know, but that doesn’t make any sense. That you would have just been leading me on, right? But here you are now on a mission, some 28 years later, after I’ve been through hell and back.’

He concluded the video message 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.’

Pearce revealed to the Hollywood Reporter that he had spoken to Spacey about his past behaviour before and that they ‘had a couple of confrontations’ that ‘got ugly’. Last May, Spacey said he believed the #MeToo movement ‘swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness’, but that he was ‘trying to show that I’ve listened. I’ve learned. I’ve got the memo. I feel very strongly that whatever mistakes I’ve made in my life, that I paid a price’.