Kevin Spacey: Co-star says hiring actor before acquittal was risk worth taking

Hiring Kevin Spacey for an upcoming thriller before he was cleared of sexual assault was a risk "we were all willing to take", according to a co-star and producer on the film.

Lauren Metcalfe, 37, said working with Spacey on Control was an "incredible" experience.

Spacey was cleared of nine sexual offence charges following a month-long trial in London.

Metcalfe said the decision to hire him was made before he was cleared in July.

"He was cleared [in the US] at the time and we wanted to base it [the decision to hire him] on facts rather than to enter into cancel culture," she said.

"We were really privileged that he signed on for the role and then working with him has been one of the highlights of my career."

She plays fictional home secretary Stella Simmons in the film, whose car is remotely hijacked by a character voiced by Spacey.

Metcalfe said there was "a lot of apprehension" before hiring the Hollywood actor, who at the time had a sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed in the US, but had yet to face the UK trial which ended in July.

"As a producer, on that side of things, we all discussed it all together at length, you know, pros and cons," she said.

"It's all the questions that you would normally consider; How is it going to affect your movie? How is it going to affect you moving forward with your career - it was a risk that I think we were all willing to take.

"I feel that everyone I met had their own opinion on what was happening and so it was a really tricky time to navigate through so much noise."

Metcalfe, who grew up in Brecon, Powys, added that Spacey wasn't cast in the film "for his personal life".

"I think people can see that for a low budget independent film it couldn't have been anything but positive to work with an actor - regardless of his personal life - who has a wealth of experience and expertise.

"There's two sides to everything and ultimately, yeah, it was a it was a risk that we took."

Ms Metcalfe said that the shooting of the film, which was written and directed by Gene Fallaize, was like a "rollercoaster".

She said the main shoot took place across only four days in the studio, with each take lasting as long as 20 minutes.

"It was a pretty intense week, I was exhausted at the end," she said.

The film's theatrical release is on 15 December.