Bryan Cranston: There may be a way back for Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey

Taryn Ryder
·Writer, Yahoo Entertainment

Bryan Cranston doesn’t think Kevin Spacey is a “good person,” but that doesn’t mean he might not deserve a second chance. The Breaking Bad alum was asked by BBC if there is a way back for the “[Harvey] Weinsteins and the Spaceys” of the world and Cranston explained that “maybe it’s possible.”

“It would take time, it would take a society to forgive them, and it would take tremendous contrition on their part,” he replied. “And a knowingness that they have a deeply rooted psychological and emotional problem and it takes years to mend that.”

Weinstein has been accused by more than 80 women of sexual harassment and/or assault. He has denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex. Spacey has also been accused by nearly a dozen men of sexual misconduct. Both men are reportedly seeking treatment for their alleged behavior.

“If they were to show us that they put the work in and were truly sorry and making amends and not defending their actions, but asking for forgiveness then maybe down the road there is room for that,” Cranston added. “Maybe so. Then it would be up to us to determine, case by case, whether or not this person deserves a second chance.”

The Last Flag Flying star continued: “And I think in the face of it, we should let that open. We shouldn’t close it off and say, ‘To hell with him, rot, and go away from us for the rest of your life.’ Let’s not do that. Let’s be bigger than that. Let’s leave it open for the few who can make it through that gauntlet of trouble and who have reclaimed their life and their dignity and their respect for others. Maybe it’s possible.”

Bryan Cranston attends the <i>Last Flag Flying</i> premiere in London. (Photo: Getty Images)
Bryan Cranston attends the Last Flag Flying premiere in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

The actor also noted that that “sexual predator behavior is not a Hollywood problem, it is a societal problem.”

While Cranston believes in second chances, it doesn’t sound like he thinks Spacey will be welcomed back in Hollywood with open arms. Cranston was quoted in BBC Newsweek saying that Spacey is “a phenomenal actor, but he’s not a very good person. His career now I think is over.”

The House of Cards star has faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment after Star Trek: Discovery actor, Anthony Rapp, accused Spacey of coming onto him when he was 14. Spacey apologized “for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” adding, “I choose now to live as a gay man.”

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