Kevin Spacey will star in the Italian film L’uomo Che Disegno Dio (translation: “The Man Who Drew God”), marking his first film role since a number of sexual misconduct and assault allegations against him went public back in 2017. ABC News reports that the film will be directed by Franco Nero, and also star Nero’s wife Vanessa Redgrave.
“I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film,” Nero told the outlet. “I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”
Spacey, who has two Academy Awards to his name, has spent recent years facing public claims and lawsuits related to sexual assault allegations from many accusers. In that time he’s dodged criminal charges, as a case against him in Massachusetts was dropped in 2019, and the L.A. County District’s Attorney declined prosecution in a separate case because of the death of the alleged victim.
On the professional side of things, Spacey’s career nosedived. Netflix revamped the final season of House of Cards, killing off his (main) character, instead going forward with just Robin Wright (who played the wife of Spacey’s Frank Underwood). Spacey was also set to star as writer Gore Vidal in a biopic called Gore, but that got axed by Netflix too. Christopher Plummer replaced him in All the Money in the World, leading to a number of re-shoots. And his publicist and talent agency dropped him as a client.
This newest development represents a return to official work for Spacey, as he had previously been limited to self-releasing YouTube videos on three consecutive Christmas Eves. His last appearance on the big screen was 2018’s Billionaire Boys Club.
For those wondering about the plot of L’uomo Che Disegno Dio, TMZ writes “it’s about a blind artist who has the God-given ability to draw portraits of people by just listening to their voice … who then skyrockets to fame and becomes a TV star.” Not much is known about Spacey’s role, though he’ll be opposite Redgrave.
