NBC
- Bryan Cranston thinks there is a potential way back for Hollywood figures accused of sexual harassment or assault like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.
- He says it would take time, society's forgiveness, and a "tremendous contrition on their part."
- He thinks we shouldn't close off a way back for them.
Hollywood loves a redemption story.
Mel Gibson is currently starring in a holiday movie from a major studio, called "Daddy's Home 2," a decade after an anti-Semitic rant derailed his career. And "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston thinks there is "maybe" a path back into the fold for Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and other Hollywood figures accused of sexual assault and harassment.
In an interview with the BBC posted Monday, Cranston was asked if there was a "way back for the Weinsteins and Spaceys of the world."
His answer: Maybe so.
"It would take time, it would take a society to forgive them, and it would take tremendous contrition on their part, and a knowingness that they have a deeply-rooted psychological, emotional problem, and it takes years to mend that." Cranston said.
Last week, in another interview, Cranston said that while Spacey was a "phenomenal actor," he was "not a very good person." Cranston said that Spacey's "career now I think is over."
But still, a way back is not impossible, Cranston told the BBC in the video, and he doesn't think we should "close it off."
"If they were to show us that they put the work in, and are truly sorry, and making amends, and not defending their actions, but asking for forgiveness, then maybe down the road there is room for that, maybe so. And then it would be up to us to determine, case by case, whether or not this person deserves a second chance, and I think in the face of that we should let that open. We shouldn't close it off and say, 'To hell with him, rot and go away from us for the rest of your life.' Let's not do that. Let's be bigger than that."
Weinstein has been accused by over 50 women of rape, sexual assault, or sexual harassment, in alleged incidents spanning decades. He is being investigated by police in New York, Los Angeles, and London.
Spacey has been accused of sexual harassment by over half a dozen men, besides other allegations including that he began a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy.