Kevin Spacey Speaks to Chris Cuomo in First TV Appearance in Years: “I’m So Much Happier Today”

Kevin Spacey

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Kevin Spacey spoke to Chris Cuomo in a NewsNation interview on Thursday that marked his first television appearance in years.

During the interview, Spacey said he is “so much happier today, living a more authentic and open life.”

“Now, I want to prove that I’m a man of great character,” he said. “I look forward to being able to prove to people that that I am the merit of who I am as a human being.”

Spacey has not worked in Hollywood since several men accused him of sexual misconduct beginning in 2017. In 2022, a New York jury deemed he was not liable in the 1980s assault of actor Anthony Rapp, and last summer, he was acquitted of nine charges brought against him in London. Several other lawsuits have also been dropped, but this month, 10 more men came forward with alleged abuse in Spacey Unmasked, a two-part Channel 4 documentary directed by Katherine Haywood.

Earlier this month, Spacey pushed back against the project, saying on social media, “I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings,” also slamming the producers for not giving him time to respond.

To Cuomo on Thursday, he said he accepts his “accountability,” but that “I am not going to be accountable for things I didn’t do or that were exaggerated or greatly changed.” He went on to say he is “ready to move forward” and that he blames “fear” for the ongoing push against his return to acting.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have all the people who’ve stepped up, and I know there’s going to be more coming soon,” he said. “But there are also people that I’ve spoken to who, they love me, they believe in me. They’ve stood with me in private… but they’re afraid to stand up. And I’ve been very fortunate that people have been honest with me about that. And I think that’s a shame, that we’ve come to a place as a society where people are afraid to say what they believe and what they feel because they’re afraid they’re going to get canceled too.”

Following Rapp’s 2017 allegation that Spacey molested him in 1986, Spacey came out as gay. The actor said on Thursday, “I was so fiercely closeted for so long and was just trying to protect and fiercely protect my, my personal life,” adding that “I feel so grateful that I’m able to come out the other side of all of this more loving, more present, more forgiving, more compassionate, and not bitter or angry or revengeful.”

This week, actors Liam Neeson, Sharon Stone and F. Murray Abraham joined director Stephen Fry in their support of Spacey, all telling The Telegraph they felt the disgraced House of Cards actor should return to Hollywood.

To Cuomo, Spacey said the support “means a tremendous amount. It’s very gratifying,” adding, “I just want to go back to work. I would much rather play you in a movie than to be sitting here answering questions on your show.”