Vanessa Redgrave no longer set to appear in Kevin Spacey film
Vanessa Redgrave will not be starring in a new film alongside Kevin Spacey despite previous reports attaching her to the project.
The 84-year-old actor had been linked to her husband Franco Nero’s Italian drama L’uomo Che Disegno Dio, translated as The Man Who Drew God, but in a new statement from her representatives, she is now no longer involved.
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“Vanessa Redgrave’s name is being included in recent stories relating to the casting of the upcoming film The Man Who Drew God,” the statement read. “While there have been discussions about the possibility of her joining the cast, she will not appear in the film.”
The announcement of the project, set to feature Spacey’s first performance since he was accused of sexual misconduct and fired from House of Cards, has been met with backlash online. More than 20 men alleged sexual misconduct by the actor when he was working at the Old Vic in London between 1995 and 2013.
Actor Anthony Rapp has claimed that Spacey made a sexual advance when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey claimed not to remember the encounter but added: “… if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” Spacey denies all other accusations of misconduct.
As well as being taken out of the final season of the Netflix drama, Spacey’s role in Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World was reshot by Christopher Plummer.
Earlier this week, Louis Nero, the film’s producer, said the allegations were of no concern. “In Italy, we don’t know details on everything, so we don’t speak about what we don’t know about,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I cannot speak about these things. I only know that Kevin is a great actor. That was my concern, and no more than that.”
He had also confirmed to Variety that Redgrave would be starring in the film if she was able to travel from England to Italy. She would have played a small role as a piano teacher.
The film is set to star the disgraced actor as a police officer investigating the case of a man – played by Franco Nero – who can draw people by listening to their voices, despite not being able to see. Earlier reports claimed the film was also about child sex abuse which has now been labelled as incorrect. “It does not involve paedophilia, as I’ve read in the media,” Louis Nero said. “This is wrong.”
Deadline has confirmed that Franco Nero is still attached to the project. “I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film,” Nero said to ABC News. “I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”
