Spacey was distinguished with the “Star” award from the Mole Antonelliana, an institution in Turin that houses the National Museum of Cinema and which invited the interpreter to offer a master class, the museum said in a statement.
The prize was awarded “as a sign of recognition” for his “aesthetic and author contribution to the development of dramatic art” with his films, the statement said.
The award was presented to him on Monday night by the Vice Minister of Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi.
“My life goes ahead. I have never hidden, I have not lived in a cave. I have gone to the restaurant, I have seen my friends, I have met with people who have defended and supported me,” he told the Italian press during his stay in Turin.
On Friday, Spacey pleaded not guilty to seven new UK sexual assault charges, months after denying similar allegations.
The actor, twice Oscar-winning (for “American Beauty” and “The Usual Suspects” (“The usual suspects” or “Common suspects” in Latin America; “Usual suspects” in Spain), has already been prosecuted for four alleged sexual assaults against men between March 2005 and April 2013, when he was director of the Old Vic theater in London.
In total, he must answer for twelve charges related to sexual assaults against four men, from 2001 to 2013.
The process, which will be held in the United Kingdom next June, will deal with all these cases.