Kevin Spacey reads Italian poem to nonplussed museum-goers in Rome

Disgraced actor made his first public appearance to read the poem at the Palazzo Massimo

Kevin Spacey made an appearance at a museum in Rome to put on a performance of an Italian poem by Gabriele Tinti.

The actor, who was disgraced in 2017 after being accused by more than a dozen people of sexual assault or sexual misconduct, appeared next to the Boxer at Rest statue at the Palazzo Massimo to read the work by Tinti.

The performance comes a month after prosecutors dropped a criminal case in which Spacey was accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old busboy in Nantucket.

“I shook the country, made the arenas vibrate, tore my opponents to shreds,” Spacey read. “I lit up the darkness, collected insults, compelled applause. Not everyone knew how to do this. None of you. On the other hand life is not frightening for those who have never taken a risk.”

According to Variety, Spacey’s team told the media there would be an impromptu reading and told certain members of the press that interviews with Spacey would be possible – however, these did not take place. Tinti later contacted The Independent to say this was not the case, and that reporters were told it was a public performance to which they were also invited to attend.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, the Rome correspondent for the Daily Beast, was one of the four journalists invited to the reading. "Everyone in the tiny room was left speechless by Spacey's unapologetic performance," she wrote. "By the the time it was over, a bigger crowd had gathered outside and he read the whole poem again to them."

Tinti said: "I contacted Kevin Spacey letting my work speak and presenting the project to him.

"He immediately appreciated the courage and special nature of my proposal. The idea of giving voice to ancient statuary, of giving new life to the finds, the fragments, that which remains of our past, struck a note with his sensitivity and deep love of art.

"His generosity and willingness to ensure the reading took place made all the rest easy. He contributed a greater intensity of participation than I had expected, proof of the great artist he is. Indeed, there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest actors alive. It was an honour for me that he agreed to read my lines; having managed to entrust them precisely to him and thus be able to hear them resound in his voice was a real privilege."

This is not the first time Spacey has made a bid for attention. He caused controversy on Christmas Eve after posting an unnerving video where he channelled his House of Cards character Frank Underwood and urged viewers “not to rush judgement”.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, a correspondent for The Daily Beast who witnessed the performance, described it as “unapologetic.”

“But the poetry reading was as much a confession as a moment of acting, it seemed,” she wrote. “As his voice rang out in front of no more than 50 surprised museum goers and selected guests, it was clear that while he may have fallen from grace for the alleged sexual assaults he did not feel any apparent remorse.”

Tinti posted on Twitter to deny reports that his poem had been written with Spacey in mind.

He said it was part of a project in which he writes tributes to ancient works of art.

“What a wonderful night! Everyone was so happy to celebrate art, it was an honour to have Kevin Spacey reading my poems, Rome loves you” he tweeted.