Kevin Spacey to receive Nations Award for Lifetime Achievement in Italy

Kevin Spacey will receive the Nations Award for Lifetime Achievement at a gala in Taormina, Italy on July 21.

Kevin Spacey will be honoured with the Nations Award for Lifetime Achievement at a special gala in Taormina, Italy, this July. The event will take place on July 21 in Taormina’s 4,000-seat Greek-Roman Theatre, where Spacey is also expected to give a short on-stage performance. This event is part of a summer cultural program in the historic amphitheatre and is not connected to the Taormina Film Festival, which runs from July 12 to 19.

Despite ongoing legal battles, including a fresh civil trial in the UK set for 2025, the award organisers defend their decision, with Michel Curatolo and Marco Fallanca stating, “Kevin Spacey is a timeless monument in film and theatre history, who unquestionably deserves the chance to get his career back”​

Spacey, known for his roles in "The Usual Suspects" and "American Beauty," continues to face multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. He was found not liable in a 2022 battery case brought by actor Anthony Rapp in the U.S. and not guilty in a 2023 UK trial related to allegations by four men. However, he faces a fresh civil trial in the UK in 2025 over new allegations.

The Nations Award, currently in its 18th edition, has previously honoured notable figures such as Gina Lollobrigida, Claudia Cardinale, Gerard Depardieu, and F. Murray Abraham. The award is organised under the patronage of Italy’s Senate of the Republic and the Sicily Region.

Spacey’s recent public appearances include receiving a Lifetime Achievement award at Italy’s National Cinema Museum in Turin in January 2023, his first major appearance since being cleared by a New York jury in October 2022 of a $40M lawsuit brought by Rapp. Since the allegations emerged in 2017, Spacey has appeared in only two feature films. His first post-2017 role was in Italian director Franco Nero’s "The Man Who Drew God," and he is set to play the devil in the upcoming thriller "The Contact."

“Taormina is one of Italy’s oldest movie celebrations and it is a true privilege to witness a taste of a performance by one of the acting greats of our time. Both his audience and the industry miss his boundless talent every single day, and we are extremely proud to stand with such an unparalleled artist,” added Curatolo and Fallanca.