Bryan Cranston Suggests Hollywood’s Sexual Abusers Could Have ‘Second Chance’

Two of Hollywood’s most talked about men may be able to patch their reputations following multiple sexual misconduct allegations, according to actor Bryan Cranston.

Weinstein has been accused of harassment by dozens of women in the entertainment industry and Spacey now has three men alleging he acted inappropriately toward them, but Cranston told BBC that they could have a “second chance” if they show the public they are “truly sorry.”

“It would take time, it would take a society to forgive them, and it would take tremendous contrition on their part,” the Breaking Bad star said. “And a knowingness that they have a deeply rooted psychological and emotional problem and it takes years to mend that.”

Despite their tattered reputations, Cranston believes there is a way for the Hollywood heavyweights to take back their careers.

“If they were to show us that they put the work in and were 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,” he continued. “Then it would be up to us to determine, case by case, whether or not this person deserves a second chance.”

Both Weinstein and Spacey have entered a treatment facility as a first step to seeking help for their shortcomings — and mending their reputations.

Cranston said that if both men put in the work to correct their “psychological and emotional problem,” then the public should have the respect to welcome them back into their respective careers.

“We should let that open,” he said. “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. Let’s leave it open for the few who can make it through that gauntlet of trouble and who have reclaimed their life and their dignity and their respect for others. Maybe it’s possible.”

Cranston’s words of acceptance and forgiveness come in stark contrast to an interview he took with BBC Newsbeat last week.

In that talk, the actor said his fellow Hollywood hit-maker’s outcome looked bleak.

“He’s a phenomenal actor, but he’s not a very good person,” Cranston said in the previous interview. “His career now I think is over.”

After numerous sexual assault allegations were leveled against Kevin Spacey in recent weeks by several men in the entertainment industry, the actor has been dropped by his agency and publicist, will be removed from the upcoming film All the Money in the World and production on House of Cards has been suspended.

Weinstein has been accused by a vast number of women in the entertainment industry of bizarre encounters of sexual harassment. He was removed from his film company, The Weinstein Company, and was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other professional associations. Weinstein has denied all accusations of “any non-consensual sex.”