Kevin Spacey instructed a British jury on Thursday that he was “a big flirt” who had what he characterised as mild, touching and romantic encounters with a person who accused him of sexual assault. He all the time revered the person’s boundaries, Mr. Spacey stated, including that he felt “crushed” when the person accused him of assault.

Two weeks right into a sexual assault trial in London towards the Oscar- and Tony Award-winning actor, Mr. Spacey’s testimony on Thursday was the primary time that the jury heard from him straight.

Mr. Spacey, 63, has pleaded not responsible to 12 fees referring to incidents that the prosecution says involved four men and occurred from 2001 to 2013. For most of that point, Mr. Spacey was the creative director of the Old Vic theater in London.

Sitting on the entrance of a courtroom at Southwark Crown Court and dealing with the jury, Mr. Spacey — who was carrying a grey swimsuit, and light-weight blue tie — was calm and sometimes joked together with his authorized consultant, Patrick Gibbs.

Opening the trial final month, Christine Agnew, a British prosecutor, instructed the jury that Mr. Spacey was “a sexual bully” who “delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.” He had repeatedly groped males, Ms. Agnew stated. On one event, Ms. Agnew added, Mr. Spacey gave a person oral intercourse with out that man’s consent.

In the times after Ms. Agnew’s opening, the jury heard from the 4 nameless complainants. Under British legislation, it’s unlawful for anybody to determine complainants in sexual assault circumstances, or to publish info that will trigger them to be recognized. The jury first watched recordings of interviews that every complainant gave to British law enforcement officials, then the accuser was cross-examined within the courthouse.

The first complainant stated in his police interview that, within the early 2000s, Mr. Spacey touched him a number of instances. On one event, the complainant stated, he was driving with Mr. Spacey to a ball organized by Elton John, and the actor grabbed his genitals so laborious that he virtually veered off the highway.

On Thursday, the day’s opening session centered on Mr. Spacey’s recollection of these encounters and the actor mentioned his relationship with that complainant. Leaning again in his chair, and sounding wistful, he stated the person was “friendly and charming and flirtatious.”

The pair’s encounters step by step “became somewhat sexual,” Mr. Spacey stated, including that this almost definitely occurred on the actor’s personal initiation. Mr. Spacey stated the pair by no means had intercourse. The complainant “made it clear he didn’t want to go any further,” Mr. Spacey added. He stated he had revered the complainant’s boundaries.

Mr. Gibbs then requested Mr. Spacey to recall how he felt when he discovered that the complainant accused him of assault. Mr. Spacey stated he had been “crushed” and it felt just like the complainant had stabbed him within the again. The court docket then adjourned for a break.