Kevin Spacey will be presented the Award for Excellence in Film and Television by the Better World Fund at a gala in Cannes as he continues to return to the public spotlight after being cleared of sexual assault accusations in 2023 following a lengthy UK trial.
The 65-year-old actor, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a con man in The Usual Suspects and a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Lester Burnham in American Beauty, will be awarded at the Fund’s 10th Anniversary Gala dinner on May 20, Deadline reports.
The fund told the publication that Spacey will be honoured for his “artistic brilliance” and “impact on cinema and the arts” throughout his career. “We are truly privileged to welcome Kevin Spacey as our Guest of Honour and Honoree at the Better World Fund Gala,” Manuel Collas De La Roche, the president and founder of the Better World Fund said in a statement.
He continued: “Kevin’s extraordinary contributions to the art of cinema have left a mark on audiences and filmmakers alike. His talent, depth and commitment to storytelling exemplify the transformative power of film. It is with great excitement that we celebrate his legacy and presence at this meaningful gathering.”
It comes after it was announced last week that Spacey has joined the cast of the conspiracy thriller, The Awakening, which also stars Justin Tinto (Just the Way You Are), Peter Stormare (Fargo, Dancer in the Dark) and Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness, Before We Go Out).
The film reportedly follows a couple who uncover a conspiracy theory about world domination, which plunges them into a race against time to expose the truth.
Matt Routledge is directing the film, which is produced by Camelot Films, who also financed the movie along with Tinto. The film is currently in post-production with a screenplay co-written by Tinto, Routledge and Matt Hookings.
Since his acquittal, Spacey has starred in a number of small projects, including the 2024 thriller The Contract, where he played the Devil.
The actor was exiled from mainstream Hollywood in 2017 after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexually abusing him in 1986. Spacey would have been 26 at the time, while Rapp was 14.
Rapp’s allegations were later dismissed by a Manhattan court in 2022. Spacey has since faced several more allegations of sexual misconduct over the years, all of which he has either denied or insisted were consensual.
In 2023, Spacey stood trial in the UK after four men alleged that he had sexually assaulted them in separate incidents over the period between 2001 and 2013. He was again cleared of all nine offences.
