Kevin Spacey receives lifetime achievement award in Italy ahead of U.K. sex assault trial

Kevin Spacey was presented the prestigious Stella della Mole Award by the National Museum of Cinema at a sold-out event in Turin, Italy.

Kevin Spacey was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the National Museum of Cinema in Italy on Monday.

The ceremony in Turin, Italy was the actor’s first public speaking appearance in five years, as Spacey has been mostly silent since numerous sexual assault allegations were made against him in 2017.

Vittorio Sgarbi, the undersecretary to the Italian Ministry of Culture, presented Spacey, 63, with the prestigious Stella della Mole Award at the sold-out event.

“Tonight, we’re witnessing Kevin Spacey’s comeback,” Sgarbi said, as per the Hollywood Reporter. “The one living through cinema is an immortal man, and it is precisely him that we are awarding this prize to tonight.”

Spacey thanked the Italian National Museum of Cinema for having “the courage” and “le palle” (meaning “balls”) to invite him to the event.

“By presenting this award, they are making a strong defence of artistic achievement and for that they should be applauded,” Spacey said.

He became emotional as he thanked his manager Evan Lowenstein, whom he called “the brother I never had.”

“It’s thanks to him that I realized I had to take all the setbacks and mistakes I made and get back on my feet, move on,” Spacey said. “It’s not just what he does for me: it’s what he does for his wife, his kids, his friends.”