Brian Cox: Time to ‘Forgive’ Kevin Spacey and ‘Move On’

Succession star Brian Cox believes that Kevin Spacey should have “the opportunity to come back to work,” despite writing in his 2021 memoir that Spacey was known to be “somewhat predatory.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cox was asked where he stands on Spacey now, just after the actor railed against “cancel culture.” Cox told the outlet that Spacey’s “only difficulty” was that he “had certain things which he couldn’t or didn’t admit to, and I think it was a strain on him in many ways.” Cox added that Spacey “had the kicking that some people think he deserved,” so everyone should “move on.”

Spacey has faced a long list of sexual assault and battery allegations going back decades, which led to the derailing of his career in 2017, when he was dismissed from his starring role in Netflix’s House of Cards. Though the legal battles that followed came out in his favor—including actor Anthony Rapp’s 2020 sexual assault lawsuit, and Spacey’s acquittal on nine assault allegations in the 2022 trial in the U.K.—his career has never recovered.

Earlier this year, Sharon Stone and Liam Neeson wrote statements to The Telegraph, imploring the industry to let Spacey get back to work.

Now, Cox is joining Spacey’s other famous friends in saying that the actor is “ready to get back in the saddle again” but alleged that “people are trying to stop him from doing that.” But since Spacey has faced those allegations in the press, Cox argued, “There should be a case of forgive and forget.”

After all, he added, “I like Kevin a lot. He’s very funny.”