CANNES, France (Reuters) -Oscar-winning U.S. actor Kevin Spacey said that “it was nice to be back” at an awards ceremony on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday evening.
Spacey, who won Oscars for “American Beauty” and “The Usual Suspects”, was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars before he was first accused of sexual assault in 2017, after which he was dropped from the TV drama “House of Cards”.
In 2022, the now 65-year-old was charged in Britain with nine sexual offences against four men between 2004 and 2013 but was acquitted of all charges after a high-profile trial in 2023.
In the United States, Spacey in 2022 defeated a sexual abuse case against him after jurors in a Manhattan civil trial found his accuser did not prove his claim that Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance on him when he was 14.
Spacey was in Cannes to receive an award for excellence in film and television from the Better World Fund, which fundraises in the name of “cinematic art at the service of humanity,” at a charity gala dinner at the Carlton Hotel.
U.S. actors Sharon Stone and Kevin Costner have received similar awards from the organisation in recent years.
“I’ve heard from so many of my friends, colleagues and co-stars in the last week since this award was announced that I feel surrounded by support,” Spacey said before the event.
“I’m glad to be working,” he added, when asked whether his appearance marked a comeback.
Spacey is also at the festival to help Britain’s Camelot Films sell the conspiracy action thriller “The Awakening,” in which he plays the character Balthazar.
He faces separate civil lawsuits from three men for alleged sexual abuse in London and is defending the cases.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross, Noemie Olive and Miranda Murray; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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