I won’t pretend to know every precise detail of the accusations against Kevin Spacey. There have been many, but he seems to have come out of this ordeal with a few court victories.
What I do know is that Italy has been a total refuge for the legendary actor. Last year, they honored him with their most prestigious national film prize, the Stella della Mole Award for lifetime achievement, and now he’s set to be honored with another big prize.
On July 21, the two-time Oscar-winning actor will be honored with Italy’s Nations Award for Lifetime Achievement in the historic southern Sicilian town of Taormina. The award is organized under the care of the Italian Senate and the state of Sicily.
Here’s the official statement, via press release, from award organizers Michel Curatolo and Marco Fallanca:
Kevin Spacey is a timeless monument in film and theater history, who unquestionably deserves the chance to get his career back.
This comes after some Hollywood actors, including Liam Neeson, Sharon Stone, F. Murray Abraham and Stephen Fry, came out in defense of Spacey, also stating that he deserved to have acting comeback in Hollywood.
The latest Italian honor comes after Spacey’s recent appearance in the Italian film “The Man Who Drew God”, directed by Franco Nero, which premiered at the Torino Film Festival. Italy loves Spacey, and the actor seems to have fully embraced their warmth by partly living in the country.
Spacey was found not guilty in sexual assault trials in the U.S. and the U.K. but is now facing another civil trial in Britain, set for next year, brought by an accuser who says the actor sexually assaulted him.
The first wave of allegations ended up blacklisting Spacey from Hollywood. He was dropped from the last season of “House of Cards” and replaced in the lead role of the Ridley Scott film “All the Money in the World” by Christopher Plummer. Word is that Paul Schrader is looking to hire Spacey on his next film.