Kevin Spacey does not take well to being absent from the Hollywood spotlight. Before, he was flooded with offers to play leading roles with substance and scene-stealing supporting roles, a right that he had deserved by winning two Oscars: the first as a supporting role for The Usual Suspects and the second as the lead role for American Beauty. And, as if the public were waiting for him as if he were Santa Claus, the actor returned this Christmas with the special announcement of him in the shoes of Frank Underwood, the role he played in House of Cards.
As if it were a real interview, the actor has appeared in a video with Tucker Carlson, the former host of the Fox News channel. For those who don't know him, he is considered the king of reactionary journalism after having fed Donald Trump's bases with fake news, conspiracy theories and even encouraging Republicans to storm the Capitol. In fact, he could be seen in Madrid next to Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, during the protests over the possible amnesty of Catalan pro-independence leaders.
At the beginning of the images, the actor pretends to be Underwood to discuss the possibility of running in the presidential elections: “It is a sacrifice that I am willing to make for this great nation.” He even breaks the fourth wall, in true House of Cards style, to wish the audience a Merry Christmas with his disturbing gaze. But, in the middle of this message (or should we call it a sketch or speech of resentment?), He charges against the platform that fired him from the political series: “Netflix exists thanks to me.”
This reproach comes after joking about the power of social networks in the present. “We have a lot of people talking about gun control and other important issues but, let's be honest, the truth is that every day more people are killed by online trolls,” he argues in the role of the Democratic politician and, while defending the right to freedom of expression, he regrets that attention is paid to these people “vomiting ridiculous ideas.”
After laying the conceptual foundations of his speech, Spacey finally refers to his own career as an actor: “It's crazy that they cut all ties with me publicly based on accusations that have been proven false.” He feels mistreated by Netflix after having contributed to the expansion of the platform as the protagonist of its first dramatic series, very ambitious as it had his collaboration, that of director David Fincher and actress Robin Wright: “I put them on the map and I “They tried to go underground.”
The actor refers to the accusations leveled against him from 2017, in the middle of the movement
The filmmaker Tony Montana, the actor Roberto Cavazos, the son of the actor Richard Dreyfuss and the son of the television presenter Heather Unruh were other people who denounced Spacey as a sexual predator, as well as up to eight people who worked at the House of Cards set. What did some of the testimonies from the Netflix filming set say? That the Oscar-winning actor had a tendency to get in touch with younger workers and sexually abuse them.
The appearance of all these voices, although they did not serve to convict Spacey in court for sexual assault, did have consequences on his career as an actor. House of Cards dispensed with his services for the sixth and final season, which starred Robin Wright alone; Ridley Scott, who had counted on him for All the Money in the World, reshot all of Spacey's scenes with Christopher Plummer as a substitute; and the biopic about Gore Vidal that he was supposed to star in was canceled.
The actor has had to settle for roles in minor productions such as The man who drew (2022) or Control (2023). The decision to produce these Christmas videos, with sharp messages for Netflix and associating with reactionary journalists, suggests that Hollywood, so forgetful, still has no roles for Spacey.
