Kevin Spacey Says the Media Made him Out to be a 'Monster'

Former "House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey said in a recent interview that it was the media's fault he's seen as a "monster," while his fans offer him "affection" – and, he said, filmmakers want to work with him.

Spacey made his assertions to German newspaper Die Zeit for its Zeitmagazin.

The magazine called Spacey "the most famous man to have been indicted as part of the #MeToo movement," and noted that the actor "is scheduled to appear in court" in London "in late June for the last time as a result of accusations that were leveled against him," having already seen a jury in America find in his favor in a case involving claims made against him by actor Anthony Rapp.

The #MeToo movement saw men as well as women speak out with allegations of sexual assault and harassment against powerful figures.

"The Oscar winner was charged one year ago in London with four counts of sexual assault, relating to alleged incidents that took place between 2005 and 2013," Variety summarized in a report about the interview – the first Spacey has given since his career abruptly collapsed.

"If Spacey is convicted in London, he could be facing a prison sentence," Zeitmagazin noted. "But if he is found not guilty, he would officially be an innocent man, the moment for which he has been waiting more than five years." The article speculated that a verdict of "not guilty" could kickstart a new phase in Spacey's career.

The actor, too, regarded the prospect of a "not guilty" finding with optimism. "It's a time in which a lot of people are very afraid that if they support me, they will be canceled," Spacey said of the past half-decade. "But I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London. The second that happens, they're ready to move forward."

Spacey later added, "Just because I was being benched for a while, I'm not going to stop working. I don't want to get rusty. I'm ready."

Meanwhile, when he meets fans on the street, the actor, 63, seems happy to interact with them. "The media have done their best to turn me into a monster," Spacey told Zeitmagazin, "but from the people, I have seen nothing but affection."

The actor's career, though detailed, was not destroyed entirely. Zetimagazin noted that he had a voice role in a recent film, and earlier this year Spacey accepted a lifetime achievement award in Italy.

But the allegations did take a major toll, with Spacey being dropped from his hit Netflix series "House of Cards," his scenes for the film "All the Money in the World" being hastily re-shot with actor Christopher Plummer, and a Netflix biopic about writer Gore Vidal being scrapped. The actor largely dropped out of sight for years, surfacing only to post a series of short video messages on YouTube over several successive holiday seasons – videos in which he appeared to speak in the persona of his "House of Cards" character, Frank Underwood.

Spacey spoke of Rapp's accusations and the allegations from others that followed, casting the experience as having been a traumatic one. "I'm still processing it," he told Zeitmagazin. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

Still, the actor struck a philosophical note. "Everything happens for a reason," he said. "And even if that reason doesn't display itself instantly or things don't get resolved instantly, it will eventually all make sense."