Ridley Scott explains decision to remove Kevin Spacey from All the Money in the World: 'You can't tolerate that behaviour'

The actor immediately decided to reshoot Spacey's scenes following sexual misconduct allegations

Ridley Scott decided to remove Kevin Spacey from his new film the moment he heard about the sexual harassment and assault allegations against the actor.

Spacey was set to appear as oil tycoon John Paul Getty III in new film All the Money in the World which Scott was completing work on when news surfaced of Spacey's alleged misconduct dating back to the 80s.

Scott made the instant decision to replace Spacey with Christopher Plummer - a move he reveals he enacted before speaking with Spacey.

“If he had called me and said, 'Hey, look, this is the way it is and I'm really sorry,' then I'd have handled it slightly differently,” Scott told EW.

Scott was finishing work on the drama in London's Abbey Road studios when he heard the news about former House of Cards star Spacey.

“Someone was like: 'Guess what?' And that's where it began,” he said. “I sat and thought about it and realised, we cannot. You can't tolerate any kind of behaviour like that. And it will affect the film. We cannot let one person's action affect the good work of all these other people. It's that simple.”

The result of the reshoots, which cost a reported $10m, can be seen in a brand new trailer that was released this week.

Scott's swift actions and ensuing comments on the situation have been praised by many.

British police are believed to be investigating two allegations of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey, while 20 people detailed “disturbing” complaints of inappropriate behaviour from the actor during his time as artistic director at London’s Old Vic.

Spacey's former spokesperson has said he is “taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment.”

All the Money in the World will hit UK cinemas on 5 January 2018.

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