Italy can’t stop giving awards to Kevin Spacey.
The two-time Oscar winner will be honored with the country’s Nations Award for Lifetime Achievement in the southern town of Taormina on July 21. The distinction comes as Spacey has made several high-profile media appearances recently in an effort to move on from the allegations of sexual assault which derailed his career and damaged his reputation when they first emerged in 2017.
Spacey is set to give a short performance as he accepts his new award—which is not connected to the Taormina Film Festival running this month—at a special gala event in the town’s historic amphitheater. The Nations Award is organized under the patronage of the Italian Senate and the state of Sicily.
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“Kevin Spacey is a timeless monument in film and theater history, who unquestionably deserves the chance to get his career back,” award organizers Michel Curatolo and Marco Fallanca said, according to Deadline.
Last year, Spacey was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the National Museum of Cinema in the northern city of Turin. “Tonight we’re witnessing Kevin Spacey’s comeback,” Vittorio Sgarbi, then-undersecretary to the Italian culture ministry, was quoted as saying as he presented Spacey with that award. The American Beauty star in turn thanked the museum for having “the balls” to invite him amid his legal troubles.
Spacey has consistently denied any illegal behavior. In 2022, he was found not liable in a civil case in the U.S. involving sexual misconduct claims made by the actor Anthony Rapp. Spacey was also found not guilty of all charges last year in a U.K. criminal trial based on complaints made by four men. He will face another civil trial in Britain, likely in 2025, over an allegation of sexual assault.
The actor has recently been defending himself more publicly in a series of interviews beginning in May.
Last month, he broke down in tears telling Piers Morgan about losing his home because he “can’t pay” his spiraling legal bills. Spacey would not put a figure on how much he owes, saying only that the total was “considerable” and “many millions.” Asked what he was going to do, Spacey answered: “Get back on the horse.”
