Mena Suvari details 'weird' Kevin Spacey encounter on set
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Mena Suvari details ‘weird and unusual’ Kevin Spacey encounter on set

When Mena Suvari learned about the sexual abuse allegations against Kevin Spacey, it triggered the memory of a “weird and unusual” encounter she had with him on the set of their 1999 film, “American Beauty.”

The 42-year-old actress claimed in a new interview that the now-61-year-old Spacey asked her to get into bed with him while preparing to shoot a scene in the sex-filled drama — and positioned himself so they were lying “very close to one another.”

“He was sort of gently holding me,” she recalled to People. “It was very peaceful but weird and unusual.”

After several men accused Spacey of sexual misconduct in 2017, Suvari said, “I thought of that day” on set, adding, “My heart goes out to anyone who suffers abuse.”

In September 2020, actor Anthony Rapp and another man sued Spacey, claiming he had sexually assaulted them in separate incidents when they were both just 14.

Spacey claimed not to remember the alleged encounter with the “Rent” star, now 49, in a previous statement, but he apologized and simultaneously came out as gay, the timing of which was met with much criticism.

He said in October 2017, “I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

Kevin Spacey and Mena Suvari in a still from "American Beauty."
In “American Beauty,” Spacey played a middle-aged man obsessed with Suvari’s character, a teenage cheerleader. ©DreamWorks/courtesy Everett /

The disgraced “House of Cards” actor added, “As those closest to me know, in my life, I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic relationships with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.”

In addition to Rapp’s case, Spacey faced a criminal case in Massachusetts for allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old busboy in July 2016. He pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors dropped the case in July 2019 after the alleged victim refused to speak in court.

The “Usual Suspects” actor also settled a sexual assault lawsuit brought by an anonymous massage therapist who died in 2018.

While Suvari has not publicly accused Spacey of any wrongdoing against her, she told People that she details her own separate experiences with sexual abuse in her new memoir, “The Great Peace.”

“This is my truth. This is my voice,” she said of the book. “I was so tired of fighting and hiding my whole life. I hope I can help someone else see their value. If I can lessen the pain for someone else, then I want to do it, because I didn’t have that person.”

A rep for Spacey did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.