A court in London has found actor Kevin Spacey not guilty of committing sexual offences against four men between 2001 and 2013. 

The Oscar winner wept after the verdicts were announced and thanked court staff.

Spacey, who had served as the artistic director of the The Old Vic theatre in London between 2004 and 2015, was accused of drugging and performing a sex act on an aspiring actor.

Three other men also accused him of grabbing their crotch.

Spacey always denied the wrongdoing and said the allegations had had a devastating impact on his life.

"There was a rush to judgement and before the first question was asked or answered, I lost my job, I lost my reputation; I lost everything in a matter of days," he told members of the jury.

After deliberating for 12 hours and 26 minutes, the jury cleared him of all charges.

The judge, Mr Justice Wall, said they must have felt as if they had been living in a “goldfish bowl” because of the intense public interest in the case.

Spacey found fame and adulation over a glittering career for his performances in American Beauty, The Usual Suspects and House of Cards.

After allegations of sexual misconduct broke in the media, Spacey was written out of House of Cards and last year a court ordered him to pay $31 million (€28 million) to the product company as compensation for lost revenue.

Criminal charges against him were dropped in California and Massachusetts in 2018 and 2019.

In New York, a civil trial found him not liable of sexual abuse.

US celebrity lawyer Christopher Melcher told IRN he believes the verdict means there is “a clear path for him [Spacey] to return to work as an actor.”

“Producers are able to work with Spacey because he has been acquitted, which lessens their exposure if he is hired," he said.

Spacey celebrates his 64th birthday today.

Main image: Kevin Spacey outside Southwark Crown Court, London, UK. 19th July 2023. Image: Amanda Rose/Alamy Live