Almost 10 years after the sex scandal destroyed his career, Kevin Spacey reveals how he lives these days, living in hotels and apartments rented out on Airbnb and performing in a nightclub in Cyprus, while hoping for an eventual return to Hollywood.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph, Kevin Spacey, now 66, opened up about the financial problems he’s facing and what his “exile” from Hollywood has meant, following the sex scandal he was involved in about 10 years ago.
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey was once one of the biggest names in Hollywood. His memorable roles in films such as “American Beauty” or the series “House of Cards” propelled him to the top of the film industry, being appreciated for his talent and charismatic presence.
But in 2017, his career was turned upside down, after the actor Anthony Rapp declared that he had sexually assaulted him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old and the star was 26 years old. At the time, Kevin Spacey was the star of House of Cards, the series that had brought him into the limelight, but he was fired from Netflix as soon as the allegations hit the press and rumors and scandals began to follow him.
“The scandal can explode in a single day, but it can take years for its “cloud” to dissipate. For a long time, I became invisible, I had no work.” Kevin Spacey confessed in the interview.
Even though he was acquitted in 2022 of the accusation brought by Anthony Rapp and in 2023 in four other cases in London, the stigma remained, and Kevin Spacey regrets that he did not clarify more aspects of his private life in time.
“I was secretive, nobody knew anything about me, I was protecting my privacy. It was like Fort Knox. People didn’t really know me, so it was very easy for them to put a lot of labels on me that just weren’t true. (…)
I think the media was not interested in the truth but in creating a negative character. Looking back, I wish I had spoken up sooner and made my voice heard more. I admitted that I did certain things, I made certain decisions that I thought were good for my work as an actor, but in fact they were also covering the problems I had with myself, the fact that I wasn’t kind to myself.” the actor confessed, comparing his period of isolation to the Hollywood blacklists of the 1950s, when artists were marginalized based on unfounded suspicions
“Many were not guilty of what they were accused of. I felt the same way,” he completed.
From the glitz of Hollywood to the nightclubs of Cyprus
Today, Kevin Spacey is 66 years old and lives almost in anonymity. He lost his home in Baltimore to foreclosure several years ago, and now lives in hotels or apartments rented through Airbnb.
“I live in hotels, I live in Airbnbs, I go where there’s work. I literally don’t have a home, that’s what I’m trying to explain,” he said, continuing: “In the last seven years the expenses have been astronomical. I have had very little income and all the expenses to pay. My financial situation is not great.”
The refuge in music
In a nightclub in Cyprus, thousands of kilometers from the lights of Hollywood, where he was once a star, Kevin Spacey earns his living by singing.
“I ended up going where there is work. Music is currently my only stable project, but I hope things change”, he confessed.
“Get over it. Oddly enough, I feel like I’m back to square one, I mean I went where the work was. Everything is unpacked in the suitcase and hopefully at some point if things keep getting better I’ll be able to decide where I want to settle again.” he keeps his hope that he will return to Hollywood someday.
