Why the moneymen will never back Spacey

AS A vocal critic of the casting couch, who has described in lurid detail the compromises she made to get ahead in Hollywood, it’s ironic but probably not unexpected that Sharon Stone is leading the charge to have Kevin Spacey ‘uncancelled’.

Along with luvvies Liam

Neeson, Trevor Nunn and Stephen Fry, who also support the disgraced Hollywood star and deplore the recent Channel 4 documentary Spacey Unmasked, Stone is a contemporary of Spacey’s and grew up in an era when sex pests and predators were part of the tapestry of daily life.

Yet it seems that the urgings of the veterans’ brigade are falling on deaf ears when it comes to recruiting younger actors to the cause.

This is a telling silence from a generation of actors whose tolerance of being groped by every sleazebag who crosses their path is not as robust as their elders’. It helps explain why big money investors have declined to back another star vehicle for Spacey who, since his acquittal in the courts, has several projects in the pipeline.

Hollywood’s moneymen are not convinced that Gen Z and Millennials want to watch the American Beauty star, and that’s the audience he needs to revive his reputation as a bankable actor.

But 64-year-old Spacey’s fall from grace is hardly a tragedy. He has an extraordinary talent which was obvious as a teenager when he landed a scholarship to Juilliard, the prestigious performing arts school.

He’s had a spectacular career, won two Oscars and, despite his sleazy reputation, had Hollywood and the London West End at his feet. And perhaps that’s where it should end.

The spell he cast has been broken by tawdry revelations and unsavoury testimonies about his character. The magic is over.