Guy Pearce says he 'sobbed' over troubling Kevin Spacey encounter on “L.A. Confidential ”set: 'He targeted me'

Guy Pearce is ready to open up about the difficulties he faced while working with embattled actor Kevin Spacey, who he claims "targeted" him on the set of L.A. Confidential.

Pearce, 57, has briefly addressed these allegations in the past, describing Spacey, 65, as a "handsy guy" during a 2018 appearance on an Australian talk show. But during his recent visit to Scott Feinberg's Awards Chatter podcast, the actor delved further into the details, confirming that he did not have an "okay" experience working alongside the Oscar winner.

Related: L.A. Confidential cast: Where are they now?

"Even though I probably was a victim to a degree, I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to sexual predators," Pearce began. "But I did that thing that you do where you brush it off and go, 'Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing.' And I did that for five months."

But despite his efforts to ignore Spacey's alleged behavior on the L.A. Confidential set, Pearce admitted, "I was scared of Kevin because he’s quite an aggressive man and quite extremely charming and brilliant at what he does — really impressive, etc. He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question."

Pearce, who was 29 and living with his wife in L.A. while filming on location, recalled telling her, "The only days I feel safe is when [Simon Baker] is on set because I’m dumped like a hot potato, and [Kevin] focuses on [Simon] because he's ten times prettier than I am."

Related: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and The Brutalist director break down controversial cave scene: 'We shot it multiple ways'

The Australian actor shared that decades passed before he truly processed the gravity of those uncomfortably interactions. In October 2017, amid the start of the MeToo movement, actor Anthony Rapp came forward with claims that Spacey made sexual advances toward him at a party in 1986, when Rapp was 14. (Rapp would later sue, though Spacey was ultimately found not liable in 2022.) Spacey initially responded by publicly apologizing to Rapp and coming out as a gay man but in the weeks that followed, a flood of similar accusations would make Rapp one of over a dozen men to accuse Spacey of sexual misconduct. Spacey has denied these claims.

Related: Anthony Rapp testifies against Kevin Spacey in sexual misconduct trial: 'It felt very wrong' 

When Pearce caught the headlines in 2017, he was immediately reminded of his own experience working alongside Spacey.

"I was in London working on something, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn't stop," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. "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. That was a really incredible wake-up call."

Pearce said that his appearance on the Australian talk show Andrew Denton's Interview came soon after, explaining that he "blurted it all out" when Spacey was brought up.

The 2018 interview saw the Brutalist actor hint at his unpleasant experience with Spacey, saying, "Amazing actor, incredible actor… Slightly difficult time with Kevin. He's a handsy guy. Thankfully I was 29, and not 14."

He later clarified his comments in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, saying, "I very much understand that it's too sensitive a topic to be brushed off. Although I wasn't sexually assaulted or molested, I was made to feel uncomfortable. I addressed and handled the situation when it took place, hence my regret at making it public now."

On Awards Chatter, Pearce said he finds himself in a "weird position" of not wanting to focus too much on his own personal experience with Spacey, but at the same time, "I don't want him to get away with what he gets away with. So I just try and be more honest about it now and call it for what it is." He added that he has since had "a couple of confrontations with Kevin" that "got ugly," though he did not clarify when those interactions occurred.

On Tuesday afternoon, Spacey responded to Pearce's accusations in a video he posted on social media. "We worked together a long time ago. If I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me, we could have had that conversation," he said, adding that his response to Pearce is to "grow up."

Spacey went on to claim that Pearce flew to Savannah, Ga., to visit Spacey a year after shooting L.A. Confidential. "I apologize that I didn't get the message that you don't like spending time with me," he continued. "Maybe there was another reason, I don't know. But that doesn't make any sense that you would have just been leading me on."

The actor, who said he's "been through hell and back," concluded the video by claiming that Pearce is "not a victim" and said he's open to having a conversation with him live on social media.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for Pearce for comment on Spacey's claim that Pearce visited him in Savannah after shooting L.A. Confidential.

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Spacey has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen men since 2017. He was found not guilty in a 2023 case in London in which four men alleged he sexually assaulted them between 2001 and 2013, after being found not liable in the 2022 civil lawsuit brought by Rapp. Spacey is currently involved in another civil trial in the U.K.

[This article has been updated to include Spacey's video response to Pearce's comments.]

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