Guy Pearce has revealed he has been harassed over the misconception he dumped his then-wife Kate Mestitz in 2015 for Game of Thrones star Carice van Houten.
“I’ve spent the last couple of years making sure I protect Kate in all this, and not really saying what happened, and particularly not saying that it was her decision to end the marriage,” Pearce, 50, said.
He told The New Daily last week that he and van Houten fell for each other in late 2015 on the set of western movie Brimstone and it was a “shock” when they conceived their son Monte, now 2.
Still, “I have people coming up to me saying ‘You’re a bastard for having an affair with Carice and getting her pregnant and then leaving your wife’,” he told Seven’s Interview show on Tuesday.
The Jack Irish star said he was “actually really proud of Kate” for calling time on the marriage.
“As sad as it was for me, for her to go ‘You know what, our time’s up’ was incredibly strong of her.”
Pearce admitted the split “blindsided” him, and he spoke of having a “death wish” that led him to contemplate walking into traffic in Berlin.
“I thought, ‘well, if I get drunk enough and I stagger onto that road, we’ll see what happens’.”
Pearce, 50, also revealed to Denton that when he starred with Kevin Spacey in 1997 LA Confidential, the Usual Suspects star got physical.
“Thankfully I was 29, and not 14,” he said, to audience gasps.
While describing Spacey as an “incredible actor”, Pearce said his history with him was a “tough one to talk about at the moment.
“Mmm. Slightly difficult time with Kevin, yeah. He’s a handsy guy.”
But while Pearce’s revelations appeared to silence Seven’s Denton, a comment he made about former Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue drew a response on social media.
“Divine. Not as handsy as I’d like her to be,” the Jack Irish star said.
“I sort of had a crush on her. I have more of a crush on her now.”
Pearce’s own “handsy” comment about Minogue was an odd juxtaposition with the Spacey revelations and undermined an opportunity to call out a sexual assault, said one user.
“Divine. Not as handsy as I’d like her to be,” @TheGuyPearce quips (about Nicole Kidman).
I appreciate it was a joke, but after raising how Kevin Spacey was "handsy" in a bad way, it undermines an opportunity to call out sexual assault.https://t.co/dD2elanNbW
— Karen Sweeney (@karenlsweeney) July 3, 2018
Hours after Pearce’s claims were aired, Scotland Yard confirmed it is investigating three new sexual assault allegations against Spacey, 58.
The new investigation dates as far back as 1996 and brings to six the number of investigations against the disgraced Oscar winner.
First reported by TMZ, the new accusations were confirmed by London police, who launched an initial investigation in November.
Spacey was artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre in London for 11 years from 2003. In November, the theatre’s board of trustees announced that 20 men had come forward with claims against Spacey.
The board issued an apology, saying a “cult of personality” around Spacey might have intimidated young actors from coming forward earlier.
Live News
