February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Oscar-winning ?American Beauty? actor and the pooch (screen credits unknown) were enjoying some quality time at 4 a.m. on Saturday when Spacey was approached by a youth who asked to use his cell phone. (Spacey?s, not the pooch?s.) The actor later told the BBC that he had been conned into complying.
?I actually dialed the number myself,? he said ruefully. ?When somebody answered, I then finally handed [over)] my phone.?
Of course, you can fill in the blanks for yourself: the kid hightailed it outta there, with Spacey and the dog in hot pursuit. Well, almost.
?I was so upset I ran after him,? said the actor. Unfortunately, he didn?t get far.
?I tripped up over my dog,? he said. ?And I ended falling in the street and hitting myself in the head.?
At this point, the actor was bleeding — ?relatively profusely? — and extremely upset. So upset that he marched his bloody self and his (understandably) irritable pet to the nearest police station, and announced that he had been mugged. The cops took the report and escorted Spacey to the hospital for treatment.
But here?s where the story takes a strange turn. After giving the matter some thought, Spacey felt that his original police report had not been accurate. So he decided to make a clean breast of it.
?I thought, you know, there is a difference between assault and theft,? he told the BBC. ?It just wasn’t on for me to not come clean about my own level of embarrassment and being humble at the fact that I got taken by the oldest con going.”
Oooooookay.
Spacey seemed a bit indignant when he was asked about the reason behind his early morning stroll.
?My doggy had to go!? he growled.