Kevin Spacey: I had no power wand to get people into bed

Kevin Spacey has been giving evidence in court on Thursday and Friday

Actor Kevin Spacey has denied using his power to get people into bed, and rejected claims he is a sexual bully.

Speaking from the stand at London's Southwark Crown Court, the Oscar-winning actor was being cross-examined during his trial for sexual assault.

The 63-year-old also called the case against him "weak" - although he acknowledged he had "definitely" misread the signs from one complainant.

He denies all 12 sexual offence charges he faces.

Asked if he considered himself to be a powerful man, Mr Spacey told the jury he "did not have a power wand that I waved in front of people's faces whenever I wanted someone to go to bed with me".

"I have used the position I gratefully found myself in to help others, to create art, to bring the Old Vic [Theatre] back to its magical days," he said.

The prosecution had put to Mr Spacey that he was "essentially the golden boy of the London theatre scene at the time" and the people he allegedly assaulted would be "unlikely to be believed".

Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC also suggested to Mr Spacey that he was a "big sexual bully", to which the actor responded "that's your term".

Asked whether aggressively grabbing men's crotches was a "trademark" move of his, Mr Spacey replied: "No."

'Romantic situation'

Earlier Mr Spacey was questioned about an alleged incident at a West End theatre in the early 2000s.

Mr Spacey claimed to have "no memory of meeting" the complainant, calling him "a liar from beginning to end".

Asked why the man, who has alleged Mr Spacey grabbed him in the crotch "like a cobra", would be lying, he replied: "Money, money and then money. And I also believe he has for whatever reason, anger towards me."

Mr Spacey also responded to allegations that he drugged an aspiring actor and performed a sex act on him while he was asleep in his flat.

"I don't know who made the first move, but we were consensually together in a romantic situation," he said.

"He did not fall asleep and I did not perform [a sex act] on him while he was asleep, despite what he has shockingly accused me of."

When Ms Agnew KC suggested the complainant was asleep, Mr Spacey said: "That's your theory."

"Well that is the prosecution case," the prosecutor said.

Mr Spacey replied: "And it's a weak one."

During her cross-examination, Ms Agnew KC asked whether he might have "ignored" signs from the four complainants.

Mr Spacey told her he had "definitely misread" the signs from one of the men.

"And I accept that," he added, describing himself as an "affectionate person" who had "consensual interactions" with two of the other accusers.

"If they went further than they wanted... they did not let me know that," he said.

Kevin Spacey was being cross-examined by Christine Agnew KC

On Thursday, Mr Spacey gave evidence for the first time during the trial, telling a jury touching an accuser was "in my mind romantic".

The actor said he had developed a "flirtatious" relationship with the accuser, who he had been "somewhat intimate with", but denied assaulting him.

Fighting back tears, he said his world had "exploded" when allegations first emerged against him in 2017.

The 63-year-old faces 12 sexual offence charges against four men between 2001 and 2013, all of which he denies.

All four accusers are entitled to lifelong anonymity under the law.

The prosecution finished their evidence against the Hollywood star on Wednesday, after the jury heard accounts from his four alleged victims.

During their evidence they variously described him as a "vile sexual predator", "slippery" and "atrocious, despicable, disgusting".

The trial continues.