Kevin Spacey went from being one of Hollywood’s most respected actors to becoming almost unemployable in the space of days.
And the collapse was enormous.
Before 2017, Spacey had already built a career most actors would dream of. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects and another for Best Actor for American Beauty. He became the face of Netflix’s House of Cards, playing Frank Underwood, and was also a major figure in theatre, eventually serving as artistic director of London’s Old Vic.
Then, in October 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance toward him in 1986, when Rapp was 14.
Spacey said he did not remember the alleged encounter and apologized for what he described as inappropriate drunken behavior. His response also included publicly coming out as gay, which itself drew widespread criticism because of the context in which it was announced.
What followed was a wave of additional allegations from other people.
Netflix suspended House of Cards, then cut ties with Spacey. His character, Frank Underwood, was removed from the show's final season. Spacey was also removed from All the Money in the World, with Christopher Plummer replacing him and the film undergoing extensive reshoots.
Projects disappeared. His public standing collapsed. And for several years, major Hollywood productions largely stopped casting him.
But there is an important part of this story that often gets left out.
Spacey has consistently denied sexual misconduct. In 2022, a New York jury found him not liable in Anthony Rapp's civil lawsuit. In 2023, a London jury found him not guilty of all nine sexual-offence charges brought against him in that criminal trial.
Those verdicts, however, did not simply restore his old career.
In March 2026, Spacey reached a confidential settlement with three British men who had brought civil claims alleging sexual assault. Two of those men had been complainants in the 2023 criminal case. The settlement ended the planned civil trial; Spacey continues to deny wrongdoing.
Since 2017, Spacey has appeared in some independent productions and has attempted to return to acting, but the scale of his career is dramatically different from the era when he was leading House of Cards, winning Oscars and working regularly with major studios.
That's what makes Kevin Spacey's story so striking.
It isn't simply the story of an actor who lost a few roles.
It's the story of one of Hollywood's biggest stars watching an entire career change almost overnight, while the legal story surrounding him continued for years afterward.
One thing I love about Parasite is how much of the story is told through stairs.
The rich family keeps living above everybody while the poorer characters are constantly climbing up to wealth or going back down to where they came from.
Even the houses were doing classism. 😭
🇧🇪 BELGIUM 🇫🇷 FRANCE🔥🔥🔥
OFC MATCHDAY MODE ACTIVATED ⚽️💜
Tonight, Brussels becomes the battlefield. 🇧🇪⚔️🇫🇷
Belgium enters the night after a 2–0 opening win over Italy, while France also started the Nations League campaign with a victory over Türkiye.
Two nations. One pitch. One massive European night.
And somewhere in the stands… the OFC SuperFan is watching every second. 👀💜⚽️
This isn't just matchday.
This is football culture.
This is OneFootball Club.
Who are you backing tonight? 👀