Kevin Spacey Claps Back at 'LA Confidential' Co-Star Guy Pearce: 'Grow Up!'

Disgraced "House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey clapped back hard at Guy Pearce, telling his onetime co-star to "grow up" and lambasting his "victim narrative" after Pearce said on a podcast that he had been "targeted" by an "aggressive" Spacey for unwanted attention when they worked together on Curtis Hanson's 1997 thriller "LA Confidential."

The Hollywood Reporter relayed that in the clip, which runs under two minutes, Spacey challenged Pearce's claims, telling him, "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."

Spacey went on to add: "You really want to know what my response is? Grow up."

The "Usual Suspects" then excoriated Pearce's "victim narrative," asking whether Pearce had mentioned joining Spacey in Georgia while Spacey was there filming "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," which Spacey starred in a year after filming "LA Confidential" with Pearce.

"I apologize that I didn't get the message that you don't like spending time with me," Spacey said sarcastically, before adding: "But here you are now on a mission, some 28 years later, after I've been through hell and back."

Spacey then declared, "If you want to have a conversation, I'm happy to do so any time, any place. We can 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."

Spacey's exile from Hollywood happened quickly when, in 2017, Anthony Rapp – star of Broadway's "RENT" and subsequently a member of the "Star Trek: Discovery" cast – leveled accusations that Spacey had come on to him when Rapp was only 14.

Spacey was starring in the acclaimed Netflix series "House of Cards" at the time. The streamer severed ties, killing off Spacey's character and wrapping up the series with a sixth and final season that did not include him.

The actor was also hurriedly excised from the Ridley Scott film "All the Money in the World," despite having had a sizable part in the movie. His role was recast with Christopher Plummer and hastily reshot.

Pearce told the Awards Chatter podcast recently that it was news reports of Rapp's accusations in 2017 that brought back the trauma of having been "targeted" by Spacey on the set of "LA Confidential" two decades before.

"I was in London working on something," Pearce recalled on the podcast, "and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn't stop."

The "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" actor grew emotional as he went on to add: "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."

THR relayed that, according to Pearce, the Australian actor had told himself at the time that Spacey's alleged attentions were "nothing."

"I did that for five months, and really I was sort of scared of Kevin because he's quite an aggressive man," Pearce told the Awards Chatter podcast. "He's extremely charming and brilliant at what he does.... He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question."

THR recalled Pearce referencing the alleged on-set misconduct in 2018, making a comment about Spacey being "handsy," and later elaborating, "Although I wasn't sexually assaulted or molested, I was made to feel uncomfortable."

The entertainment news publication also quoted Pearce saying that he told his wife while filming "LA Confidential" that he only felt "safe" on the production during times when another actor, Simon Baker, was "on set because I'm dumped like a hot potato," with Spacey allegedly shifting his attention to Baker "because he was ten times prettier than I am."

Spacey has twice prevailed in court against allegations of misconduct, but he has been almost entirely frozen out of the film business. A brief voiceover part in the 2022 movie "No Control" was an exception – and that minimal role reportedly got the film's planned premiere at a London theater canceled.

More recently, Spacey has starred in the title role of Michael Zaiko Hall's 2024 comedic action movie "Peter Five Eight" and, that same year, appeared as The Devil in Massimo Paolucci's thriller "The Contract."

New allegations against Spacey came to light last year with the airing of a two-part documentary on the UK's Channel 4 that, THR reported at the time, "feature[d] the testimonies of a group of men – identified by their first names only – that span five decades, ranging from a teenage Spacey at high school to the height of his 'House of Cards' fame, as well as his time at the Old Vic," an esteemed London playhouse where Spacey served as artistic director for more than a decade.

In all, 10 men came forth in the doc to describe what they claimed was the actor's inappropriate behavior toward them.

"None of them were involved in the London trial that saw the actor acquitted of nine charges in July 2023, and all but one have never spoken out before," the THR article added.