Kevin Spacey has revealed that he feels "much more welcomed" into Hollywood as he attempts to rebuild his career following a series of legal battles and allegations spanning several years.
The Seven actor faced more than 50 individual allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour from multiple accusers across several decades.
Speaking to Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast, Spacey explained that his career is now moving in a positive direction after years of professional and financial difficulties.
"I feel much more welcomed, and I think that things are moving in the direction that we hoped they were moving in," he said.
Reflecting on his legal history, the American Beauty actor noted that he had won "in every court we've gone into with a jury".
He added, "There are certain cases where part of something is true, but it's been rethought, it's been redesigned, or it's been entirely made up, certainly in the case of Anthony Rapp, which is a case that we won in federal court in New York."
The Oscar winner was referring to allegations by Rent actor Rapp, who claimed in 2017 that Spacey made unwanted sexual advances towards him in his New York apartment when he was a teenager, accusations that triggered a wider wave of claims that ultimately derailed Spacey's career.
Rapp later filed a $40 million (£30.3 million) civil lawsuit accusing Spacey of sexual assault and battery, but a New York jury found the House of Cards star not liable for any of the claims.
Elsewhere in the interview, Maher challenged Spacey over the number of allegations against him, stating, "There's too much smoke to be no fire."
The 66-year-old acknowledged he had crossed boundaries at times.
"I never said there was no fire," he responded. "It just wasn't a raging forest fire. It was a small kitchen fire that could have been put out with an extinguisher."
He also acknowledged, "I hit on a lot of guys."
Discussing how public perception has shifted as he tells his side of events, Spacey commented, "I feel less in jail than I did."
He continued, "When people actually start to hear the facts, understand what we won in courts, I think people now look at this and think, maybe nine years has been enough."
Spacey is continuing his acting comeback by working in European and independent productions, including the Italian comedy series Minimarket and the British indie thriller The Awakening.
