Kevin Spacey is a “sexual bully” who assaults other men, jurors have been told by the prosecution at the outset of his trial.
The American actor is facing 12 charges in a British trial, covering allegations made by four men stretching from 2001 to 2013.
He appeared at London Southwark Crown Court on Friday to hear the first day of evidence being given against him.
The 63-year-old denies all the allegations.
Prosecutor Christine Agnew opened the trial, which is expected to last for a month, by setting out the allegations levelled at Mr Spacey.
She told jurors: “He is an extremely famous actor who has won a number of awards. He is also, the prosecution allege, a man who sexually assaults other men.
“A man who does not respect personal boundaries or space, a man who it would seem delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable, a sexual bully.”
Miss Agnew told jurors to concentrate on the evidence and not to feel “starstruck” or “overwhelmed” because of the actor’s fame.
In her opening address, she told the court that the first complainant said Mr Spacey would speak “openly about his sexuality” to him from the time they met, which made him uncomfortable.
Over time Mr Spacey began to touch him inappropriately, with the contact becoming “more intense” and escalating to occasions when he would “grab and grope… in an aggressive way”.
Miss Agnew alleged that Mr Spacey got a “sexual thrill out of this type of sexual aggression”.
The second complainant claimed Mr Spacey “simply laughed” when he pushed the actor away after being grabbed “with such force it was painful” at a work event in 2005.
The prosecutor said the third claimant, who was the first of the group to report Mr Spacey to police, met the actor following an audition in 2008, and went to him seeking mentoring.
The pair drank in the pub together and went back to Mr Spacey’s flat. When the claimant woke up, he found the actor was performing a sex act on him, the prosecution alleges.
Miss Agnew said: “He thought he was only awake at Mr Spacey’s apartment for about one hour, so must have been asleep or passed out for about five hours.”
The court was told how in 2013, the fourth complainant met Mr Spacey in a bar he was working in, and then saw him later in the evening in another pub he told the actor he would be going to.
The claimant alleges Mr Spacey repeatedly touched his leg, and later told him to “be cool” when the actor tried to kiss his neck.
When the pair were alone in a room, Miss Agnew said Mr Spacey grabbed the claimant’s crotch.
Image source, Julia Quenzler
The trial is being heard at Southwark Crown Court in London
In January, Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
He also previously denied four further charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The four men who have made the allegations are entitled to anonymity under the law.
Mr Spacey has had a successful career in Hollywood spanning four decades, including winning two Oscars for American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, and starring in the first five series of Netflix’s House of Cards.
He was born in the US but served as the director of the Old Vic theatre in London between 2004 and 2015, and continues to have a home in the city.
The trial continues next week.
