Brian Cox argues Kevin Spacey should “be given the opportunity to come back to work”

“He’s had the kicking that some people think he deserved”

Brian Cox has spoken out in support of his former co-star Kevin Spacey returning to Hollywood.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Succession actor looked back on the controversy surrounding Spacey following a series of allegations made against him from 2017, and shared that he’d recently met up with him.

“I think he’s been through it,” Cox said of Spacey. “He’s had the kicking that some people think he deserved. He’s ready to get back in the saddle again, and people are trying to stop him from doing that.”

He added: “Maybe he got too out of hand, but I don’t think he should be punished endlessly for it. There should be a case of forgive and forget. Let’s move on. I think he should be given the opportunity to come back to work.”

Cox had previously made comments about Spacey’s behaviour being inappropriate when they worked on the 1994 Disney movie Iron Will together. He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I just think Kevin had certain things which he couldn’t or didn’t admit to, and I think it was a strain on him in many ways. And for me, that was Kevin’s only difficulty. But he’s a very fine actor, and I like Kevin a lot. He’s very funny.”

Cox is just the latest of a number of actors and entertainers to support Spacey’s return to Hollywood after the likes of Liam Neeson, Sharon Stone, Stephen Fry and F. Murray Abraham.

Spacey was accused of sexual assault by Anthony Rapp in 2017, with a number of other accusers then coming forward in the next few years. In 2022, a jury in New York found that Spacey wasn’t liable for battery in relation to Rapp’s accusations, and last year, a court in the UK found him not guilty of nine counts of alleged sexual assault.

This year, new allegations against the House Of Cards actor surfaced in the Channel 4 documentary Spacey Unmasked. Spacey, who has denied all allegations made against him, wrote on X (Twitter) at the time, “I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings.”

Meanwhile, in July, it was revealed that Spacey had to sell his $5.6million home in Baltimore, Maryland for $3.24million to avoid bankruptcy after telling Piers Morgan in an interview the previous month that he was broke.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.