Adding his name to a growing list of men who have come forward to allege Kevin Spacey sexual harassed or assaulted them in some way over the past 30 years, actor and writer Harry Dreyfuss — the son of Richard Dreyfuss — is claiming Spacey groped his crotch when he was 18. Per his account to BuzzFeed News, Dreyfuss was in London with his father at the time of the groping, where Spacey and the elder Dreyfuss were undergoing rehearsals for a play called Complicit at the Old Vic in London. Harry Dreyfuss had been excitedly waiting to meet Spacey, one of his favorite actors, and was surprised at how kind and easygoing he was during their first introduction. “He gave me such a warm smile, and instead of shaking my hand, he gave me a hug. Instantly, my young-man-perpetually-seeking-father-figures heart melted,†the younger Dreyfuss explained. “All I remember thinking was you’re so nice.â€
A few days later, when Spacey and the elder Dreyfuss met to rehearse lines for the play, everything started to change. (Harry tagged along.) Although the Harry didn’t get any red flags when Spacey “wrapped his fingers†between his own and gave him some advice, a sexual advance occurred shortly thereafter on a couch that “finally†made him suspicious of Spacey’s motives. “After a few minutes, he put his hand on my thigh,†Dreyfuss explained. “It took that long because it just never occurred to me that Kevin would be interested in me in the first place. He was an adult man, a hero of mine, my dad’s boss, none of which were categories on my radar for sexual interactions. Besides, I thought, Surely he can’t be coming on to me like this right in front of my dad. But his hand stayed there.â€
Despite moving couches a few times and firmly putting his hands on his lap to prevent anything from transpiring, Spacey kept following him and ultimately groped him. “Once again Kevin followed me, sat down, and with considerable effort, slid his hand between my right hand and my right leg. He’d snuck in,†Dreyfuss continued. “Over the course of about 20 seconds, centimeter by centimeter, Kevin crawled his hand from my thigh over toward my crotch. My mind went blank. Suddenly, he had completed his journey and now he had all of me in his hand … Kevin had no reaction and kept his hand there. My eyes went back to the script and I kept reading.â€
Harry Dreyfuss didn’t tell his father until many years after the groping occurred, fearing the story would negatively affect his career. And while Dreyfuss would also go on to “downplay†this experience “into a funny story†to tell at parties in the subsequent years, he realized how important it was for him to speak up now with all of the allegations coming forth against Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, and other prominent men in Hollywood. As he perhaps puts it best: “Rather than a punchline, I hope my story can serve as inspiration to others who may have felt that they couldn’t or shouldn’t speak up until now.â€