Kevin Spacey books first film role amid sexual assault allegations

Nearly four years after Kevin Spacey was first accused of sexual abuse, the actor has been cast in the Franco Nero-directed Italian film L'uomo Che Disegnò Dio (The Man Who Drew God).

"I'm very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film," Nero told ABC News in a statement. "I consider him a great actor and I can't wait to start the movie."

IMDb lists Nero and his wife Vanessa Redgrave as actors in the nearly $2 million project, with a tentative release date of Oct. 5, 2021. The film's summary details the film as a "fable on the need to rediscover the miraculous power of dignity in a world where media's noise has solved the problem of man's imperfection simply by removing the problem itself."

Louis Nero, the producer of the drama has confirmed to Variety that Spacey is slated to portray a police detective in what is described as a small role.

EW has reached out to Spacey, Nero, and the filmmakers for comment.

Accusations first emerged against the star in 2017, after fellow actor Anthony Rapp claimed Spacey made unwanted sexual advances toward him when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey apologized publicly to Rapp, though the former says he does not remember the encounter, which allegedly took place while Spacey was intoxicated. Spacey officially came out as a gay man in the apology, which was heavily criticized as a way to deflect from the accusations.

At least 15 more men have voiced similar complaints against Spacey since Rapp first spoke out, though none of the accusations have led to successful criminal prosecutions, one case was voluntarily dismissed due to the accuser's unavailability. Two cases were closed in 2019 due to the accusers' deaths including Ari Behn, who died by suicide, and an anonymous massage therapist, who died of unknown causes.

Spacey has always maintained his innocence.

Most recently, an anonymous man (known only as C.D.) who joined Rapp in his suit against Spacey was told he would have to identify himself publicly for the case to move forward. The man declined to do so because he believed revealing his identity would bring about unwanted attention and psychological trauma, according to the NY Times. The case is set to be dismissed.

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