Neeson described Spacey as a ‘good man and a man of character’
The likes of Stephen Fry and Liam Neeson have voiced their support for Kevin Spacey to return to acting.
The pair were part of a group of stars who told the Telegraph that the actor must be allowed to resume his career after he was cleared of sexual assault allegations last year.
Spacey has not appeared on screen or stage since 2017, after the accusations were made against him.
The statements of support for Spacey come in the wake of a Channel 4 documentary which was broadcast earlier this month.
Spacey Unmasked featured testimony from a number of men who alleged that Spacey had behaved inappropriately towards them. These were separate allegations to those who had lodged criminal complaints with British police.
Spacey denies the allegations of inappropriate behaviour that featured in the programme and has said he “will not take responsibility or apologise to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me.”
Now, Fry and Neeson have joined Sharon Stone, Oscar-winner F Murray Abraham and Sir Trevor Nunn in calling for Spacey to return to the film and theatre industries.
Fry told the Telegraph that whilst Spacey had often been “clumsy and inappropriate”, it was “wrong to continue to batter” his reputation.
The former QI presenter asked how it can be “considered proportionate and justified” to “devote a whole documentary to accusations that simply do not add up to crimes.”
He added: “Surely it is wrong to continue to batter a reputation on the strength of assertion and rhetoric rather than evidence and proof? Unless I’m missing something, I think he has paid the price.”
Meanwhile, Neeson described Spacey as a “good man and a man of character”, adding that he thought the “industry needs him and misses him greatly.”
And Stone said that she “can’t wait to see Kevin back at work,” describing him as a “genius” who is “so elegant and fun, generous to a fault and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will.”
Spacey won Oscars for his roles in The Usual Suspects in 1996 and in 2000 for American Beauty, and was the star of hit Netflix show House of Cards.
However, he was blacklisted by the industry after allegations emerged against him in 2017.
In July last year, the 64-year-old was cleared of nine sexual offence charges relating to four men between 2001 and 2013.
This came the year after a New York court dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against him.
In an interview with the Telegraph, he said there had been a “rush to judgement” against him in the wake of the MeToo movement and the crimes committed by Harvey Weinstein.
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