Kevin Spacey's 'inappropriate sexual behaviour' halted The Usual Suspects filming, claims Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne has claimed that production on The Usual Suspects was halted due to “allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour” against co-star Kevin Spacey.
The Irish actor claims that while he did not know why filming was stopped at the time, he has since discovered it was because of Spacey's alleged inappropriate behaviour towards a younger actor.
“I did not know honestly then the extent of his violence,” Byrne told The Sunday Times. “I mean, he was kind of a joke in that people would say 'That's Kevin', but nobody really understood the depth of his predations.
“It was only years later that we began to understand that [filming] was closed down for a particular reason and that was because of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Spacey.”
Byrne starred in 1995 film The Usual Suspects alongside Benicio del Toro, Pete Postlethwaite and Spacey who went on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role. The film was directed by Bryan Singer who has been fired from forthcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody after reportedly failing to turn up on set.
The actor went on to address the Harvey Weinstein scandal which has seen the film producer face multiple allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape, branding him a “sleazebag” and a “bully.”
“I saw him be absolutely appalling, not just to women but to men as well," he said. "He had very little respect for any kind of human being."
Upon the surfacing of multiple allegations against Spacey dating back to the 80s, the actor was replaced by Christopher Plummer in new Ridley Scott film All the Money in the World.
He was also dropped by Netflix who is moving ahead with the sixth and final season of political drama House of Cards with Robin Wright in the lead role. It is expected to air in 2018.
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