Guy Pearce Recalls “Aggressive” Advances From Kevin Spacey On ‘L.A. Confidential’ Set: “I Broke Down & Sobed”

Ahead of the Oscars ceremony on March 2, Best Supporting Actor nominee Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist“) is opening up about his on-set experiences with the infamous Kevin Spacey while filming “L.A. Confidential,” the hit 1997 noir drama based on the James Ellroy novel that earned Kim Basinger a Best Supporting Actress statue. The Best Supporting Actor nominee spoke about his previous interactions with Spacey while chatting with The Hollywood Reporter on their podcast “Awards Chatter.”

READ MORE: Brian Cox Doesn’t Believe Kevin Spacey Should Be “Punished Endlessly” For His Transgressions

“L.A. Confidential” is arguably the first time many American audiences were introduced to Pearce (alongside Christopher Nolan’s “Memento”) and fellow Aussie co-star Russell Crowe (before his career exploded from “Gladiator”), who Pearce still refers to as a “great mate.” Spacey, not so much.

During that conversation exploring his career in Hollywood, Pearce recalled the repeated sexual advances from Spacey which he believes he was “targeted” by the Oscar-winning actor, who would eventually see a heap of sexual misconduct and assault allegations decades later (some of those events are alleged to have gone back to the 1980s and include minors).

“I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t stop. I think it really dawned on me the impact that had occurred,” Pearce told the podcast. While the Aussie actor admits he was never assaulted or molested, he was still made to feel “uncomfortable” and “scared” by Spacey’s aggressive demeanor.

However, it didn’t stop with Pearce as fellow “L.A. Confidential” actor Simon Baker had a similar experience of attracting Spacey’s creepy attention during filming.

“The only days I feel safe are the days when [Simon Baker] is on set because I’m dumped like a hot potato, and [Kevin] focuses on [Simon] because he was ten times prettier than I am,” Pearce recalled telling his then-wife Kate Mestitz, who stayed with him during the Los Angeles shoot.

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Pearce also noted that he had some non-specific “confrontations” with Spacey later on. Stating he doesn’t want the actor to keep getting away with that kind of treatment of others and is very much aware that others have had much worse. Then again, none of that unprofessional and criminal behavior should be tolerated on any level.

You can listen to that full “Awards Chatter” episode with Pearce below: