Vanessa Redgrave Will Not Be Appearing Alongside Kevin Spacey in New Italian Film
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Vanessa Redgrave will not be appearing in L'uomo Che Disegnò Dio, the upcoming Italian film that is slated to include a cameo from Kevin Spacey.
ABC News reported on Saturday that the Oscar-winning actress, 84, would be acting in the movie, which is being directed by her husband, Franco Nero.
Louis Nero, who is producing the low-budget indie, also confirmed Redgrave's participation, telling Variety that she would be appearing as a piano teacher if she could travel from England to Italy.
But on Wednesday, a representative for Redgrave said otherwise, denying that she would be involved in the picture (its title translates in English to, The Man Who Drew God).
"Vanessa Redgrave's name is being included in recent stories relating to the casting of the upcoming film, The Man Who Drew God," her spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. "While there have been discussions about the possibility of her joining the cast, she will not appear in the film."
A rep for Redgrave did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Franco, who married Redgrave in 2006, confirmed Spacey's involvement in the low budget indie to ABC, telling the outlet, "I'm very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film. I consider him a great actor and I can't wait to start the movie."
Spacey's role in the film will be his first since sexual assault allegations against him surfaced back in 2017 — when Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making inappropriate sexual advances toward him when he was only 14 in a BuzzFeed article.
In a statement released in the wake of the allegations, Spacey said in part that he didn't remember the alleged incident, apologized for "what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior" and announced, "I choose now to live as a gay man." (High-profile LBGTQ+ actors like Wanda Sykes and Billy Eichner criticized the statement, with GLAAD cautioning that Spacey coming out should not "deflect" from Rapp's allegation.)
Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images Kevin Spacey
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In July 2018, three more people reportedly came forward to accuse Spacey of sexual assault in England, and in August of that year, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office received a new sexual assault case involving the Oscar winner, reps from the office confirmed to PEOPLE at the time. The office declined to file charges against Spacey.
Massachusetts prosecutors dropped an indecent assault and battery case against Spacey, for which he pled not guilty, in July 2019 due to "unavailability of the complaining witness," according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time.
That September, Spacey faced additional sexual assault allegations in a new lawsuit by Rapp and another man.
Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the second man — referred to only as C.D. in court documents — must identify himself to the court in order to proceed with the lawsuit and keep the trial fair.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
