Liam Neeson has joined other Hollywood actors in a show of support for Kevin Spacey in the wake of the new documentary "Spacey Unmasked" which levies new allegations against the Oscar winner.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of these accusations against him,” Neeson, a native of Co Antrim, told The Telegraph this week.
“Kevin is a good man and a man of character. He’s sensitive, articulate, and non-judgmental, with a terrific sense of humour.
"He is also one of our finest artists in the theatre and on camera.
“Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly.”
Neeson's sentiments were echoed in The Telegraph by actors Sharon Stone, F. Murray Abraham, and Stephen Fry, as well as Sir Trevor Nunn, the former artistic director of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
The show of support comes after the documentary “Spacey Unmasked” debuted in the UK on Monday, May 6. It is now available in the US as well.
The series, produced by Roast Beef Productions in association with All3 Media International, was commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK in June 2022.
The project was announced before Spacey was found not liable in October 2022 in a civil suit lodged by actor Anthony Rapp, and found not guilty in summer 2023 of sexual assault in separate charges in the UK.
All3 Media International describes "Spacey Unmasked" as “a forensic look at a man who was once one of the most admired and respected actors in the world.
“Featuring never-seen-before interviews and archive, the series examines his life from childhood to early success on Broadway and subsequent meteoric rise to stardom.
“Kevin Spacey’s spectacular fall from grace came amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
“In 2023 Spacey was acquitted of sexual offences against four men in a UK trial. This two-part series will investigate Spacey's conduct and talks to multiple men unconnected to that case about their experiences with Kevin Spacey, almost all of whom have never spoken before.”
Before the documentary debuted, Spacey took to X on May 2 claiming he was not given enough time to respond to the allegations lodged in the new documentary.
"Over the last week, I have repeatedly requested that @Channel4 afford me more than 7 days to respond to allegations made against me dating back 48 years and provide me with sufficient details to investigate these matters," Spacey wrote.
"Channel 4 has refused on the basis that they feel that asking for a response in 7 days to new, anonymized and non-specific allegations is a 'fair opportunity' for me to refute any allegations made against me.
"I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network's one-sided 'documentary' about me in their desperate attempt for ratings. There's a proper channel to handle allegations against me and it’s not Channel 4.
"Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated."
Over the last week, I have repeatedly requested that @Channel4 afford me more than 7 days to respond to allegations made against me dating back 48 years and provide me with sufficient details to investigate these matters. Channel 4 has refused on the basis that they feel that…
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) May 2, 2024
Spacey told The Telegraph this week: "We only heard about that documentary very briefly before they decided to air it.
"We had assumed, or I had thought, that after we had had the outcomes that we had in both the Anthony Rapp civil suit in New York City and the criminal trial of which I was found not guilty of all the accusations that they probably wouldn't pursue it."
Spacey said he imagines that when the documentary was commissioned in 2022, the filmmakers thought he was going to lose the Rapp case "and by the time it came out I’d be in jail and they would be really ahead of the curve.
"But, you know, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, and perhaps because they had already at that point spent money, I think they just decided that they wanted to go ahead with it."
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