Actress Mena Suvari has opened up about a particularly odd experience she had with Kevin Spacey while filming American Beauty in her new memoir, A Great Peace.
Suvari, who starred opposite Spacey in the 1999 black comedy-drama, has said that she “trusted him” while shooting the movie, but one particular moment didn’t sit right with her.
The 42-year-old actress recently told People that in order to prepare for the shooting of an intimate scene, Spacey brought her into a room where they “lay on the bed very close to one another.”
“He was sort of gently holding me. It was very peaceful but weird and unusual.”
19 years on from the movie, Spacey was accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment by dozens of young men, leaving the actor disgraced from Hollywood.
After the harrowing claims surfaced, Suvari was left confused and admitted, “I thought of that day.”
“My heart goes out to anyone who suffers abuse,” she added.
Mena Suvari’s ‘double life’ after American Beauty
Following the success of American Beauty, Suvari said she was “living a double life” as a result of her newfound stardom.
She revealed that even when the cameras weren’t rolling, she was still acting. “Every time I would go on a set. Every time I was interviewed, I was acting the whole time,” she confessed. “It was another role for me to play. That I was okay.”
Suvari’s acting breakthrough came in 1999 when she was cast in two hugely successful movies in the same year. After her role as innocent choir girl Heather in American Pie, she went on to play teenage cheerleader Angela, who Spacey’s middle-aged character became infatuated by.
Suvari received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress following the role, and looking back, the actress said of American Beauty, “It was a beautiful experience, being given the opportunity to work and express myself right when I needed to save me.”
Allegations against Spacey first came to light in 2018, when actor Andy Rapp alleged the actor had made inappropriate sexual advances toward him when he was 14-years-old.
Spacey issued a statement on Twitter addressing the allegations, claiming he was “beyond horrified” to hear his story, and although he did not remember the encounter, said, “I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,”
Where is Kevin Spacey now?
Rapp’s disturbing allegations prompted dozens of other young men to come forward, and Spacey has since been largely shunned from Hollywood.
These days, Spacey can be found trying to win back fans on YouTube with impersonations of his House of Cards character, Frank Underwood.
However, this year has seen him land his first movie role since allegations surfaced. The actor will be playing a small cameo role in the Italian film L’uomo Che Disegno Dio, or The Man Who Drew God, directed by Franco Nero.
“I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film,” Nero told ABC News. “I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”