While Kevin Spacey is attempting to move past his legal issues and the sexual abuse allegations that preceded them, it’s clear that he’s struggling to keep his name cleared. Now director Michael Zaiko Hall has, who cast Spacey in his film Peter Five Eight, has stepped forward to defend Kevin Spacey – and even believes he’s not like Harvey Weinstein.
Unlike Spacey, Harvey Weinstein was found guilty for the allegations made against him. Many cast and crew members that worked with Weinstein on his films called him out for sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior. Now, while speaking with THR, Hall believes the similar claims made against Spacey are not true.
Here’s what Hall shared about Spacey and how he simply felt the House of Cards actor was the best possible actor for the role he received in Peter Five Eight:
“With a comic malevolence and this lyrical quality to him, we decided to approach Kevin’s management with the script, and to offer him the role. Of course, this is a controversial choice, if you will. We were very cognizant about what we were embarking on by bringing this to Kevin, but we knew it would be in the interest of the film. The film would be far more compelling with Kevin as Peter.”
Additionally, Hall lists “cancel culture” as one of Spacey’s major struggles:
“Kevin Spacey is a rare talent. Of eight billion people on earth, how many people can do what Kevin does? I would say, generously, 100. He brings something powerful to the screen and I think this is one of the unfortunate side effects of cancel culture.”
At which point, he emphasizes Kevin Spacey is not like Harvey Weinstein, Billy Cosby, or even Armie Hammer.
“I don’t think Kevin is a Harvey Weinstein. I don’t think Kevin is a Bill Cosby. I would go so far as to say I don’t even think Kevin is an Armie Hammer. I read Armie Hammer’s texts, and as a amateur student of psychology, I think the man is a psychopath. I think there’s a sadism there and there’s a cruelty. With Kevin, there’s none of that. There’s absolutely none of that. There’s no cruelty. There’s no sadism. He’s a sweet man. He’s really a sweet man. This was my character assessment of him.”
It’ll be interesting to see if the release of Peter Five Eight will be the beginning of a comeback for Spacey or if he’ll continue to be blacklisted in Hollywood. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Kevin Spacey and his situation as we have them.