When the new series of US political drama House Of Cards was screened earlier this month, it received an unusually lacklustre reception.

The much-acclaimed show, now in its sixth season, had been a cornerstone of Netflix’s annual schedule, with tens of millions around the world gripped by the malevolent scheming of its central character, President Frank Underwood, portrayed to eerie perfection by actor Kevin Spacey.

But this time, there is a gaping hole – Spacey is missing, his iconic character killed off by uneasy producers and script writers following sexual assault and harassment allegations made against the actor by a string of young men last year.

The show limps on regardless, with a female president in the form of Frank’s equally ruthless wife Claire, icily played by Robin Wright.

Following the sexual assault allegations that emerged against Kevin Spacey in 2017 nothing has been seen or heard of the double Oscar-winning actor. He was last spotted exercising at the Meadows Rehab Centre in Wickenburg, Arizona, last year

But the real drama lies elsewhere. For despite being one of Hollywood’s most recognisable stars, Spacey has apparently disappeared off-screen as well as on it.

Nothing has been seen or heard of the double Oscar-winning actor since the first allegations emerged over a year ago in October 2017.

On both sides of the Atlantic, where Spacey owns multi-million-pound homes, the question is being asked with growing urgency: where is Kevin Spacey? ‘He’s become a total recluse,’ one friend told The Mail on Sunday.

‘No one has heard from him. He’s vanished. It’s almost unbelievable that someone of his stature can pull it off in a world where everyone has a cell phone.’

One producer described Spacey as having ‘one of the most recognisable faces on the planet’ and added: ‘I was with him when he walked into a restaurant in Beverly Hills and the whole place applauded.’

It may be a long time before he garners applause again.

His downfall began on October 29, 2017, when Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him in the star’s New York apartment in 1986 when Rapp was just 14, triggering a string of similar complaints.

As the new series of the US political drama House Of Cards was screened earlier this month there was a gaping hole. President Frank Underwood, portrayed by actor Kevin Spacey was killed off by uneasy producers and script writers following sexual assault and harassment allegations made against the actor last year

To date, 30 men have made public allegations about the actor. While no formal charges have been filed, police in LA and London are investigating allegations of sexual assault, including rape.

In the UK, there are six active investigations. The Old Vic theatre in London, where Spacey was artistic director for 11 years until 2015, said it had received 20 complaints of inappropriate behaviour during his tenure.

Spacey issued a swift and contrite apology, ended years of rumours about his sexuality by ‘coming out’ as gay and checked into sex rehab clinic The Meadows in Arizona alongside disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

But unlike Weinstein – who has been photographed going about his daily business, visiting his lawyers’ offices and picking his children up from school – there has been no sign of Spacey anywhere.

The Mail on Sunday has spoken to – or attempted to speak to – dozens of Spacey’s friends, colleagues and acquaintances in the UK and the US in an attempt to piece together his movements.

But it is clear that Spacey’s vanishing act may be his best coup de théâtre so far.

The last known pictures of the actor are fuzzy paparazzi shots taken at the £25,000-a-month rehab facility in November last year.

There, Spacey was supposed to undergo a 45-day sex addiction ‘detox’ but, we can reveal, checked out after only 21 days.

‘He left early,’ said one friend, on condition of anonymity. ‘He only stuck it out for three weeks.’

Where he went after that remains unclear – although there are plenty of associates who claim to know where he is.

One well-connected British socialite who knew Spacey during his Old Vic days insists that he is living in seclusion in the Cook Islands, a string of 15 tiny islands in the middle of the South Pacific.

‘He’s living as a hermit in the Cook Islands,’ she said authoritatively. ‘He’s keeping his head down until this blows over.

One well-connected British socialite who knew Spacey during his Old Vic days said he is living in seclusion in the Cook Islands

He still has a lot of rich friends from his Old Vic days. He has enough money to stay hidden.’

But a source who worked on House Of Cards insists that the actor, whose real name is Kevin Spacey Fowler, is in hiding in France.

‘He’s been in the South of France living on a big estate,’ the man said. ‘He’s been working out like crazy, doing massive oil paintings and keeping a low profile.’

It may well be, sources say, that he has put his formidable acting prowess to good use in order to avoid detection.

One source said: ‘Kevin is travelling under his real name of Kevin Fowler.’

Intriguingly, the source added: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not been seen because he is going out in public wearing a disguise. He’s spent his life transforming himself into other characters – why not now?’

Certainly, the star has not been seen at any of the homes in his international property portfolio.

Spacey is said to have visited New York since the scandal broke but stayed with a ‘wealthy friend’ connected with the theatre world.

A doorman at Spacey’s former Manhattan home – now sold – said: ‘We’ve not seen him here for a long time, well before the scandal.’

Another former associate suggested he is ‘hiding in plain sight’ in a rented ranch in Thousand Oaks, a suburb of Los Angeles which recently suffered a double tragedy of a mass shooting and a wildfire.

‘Kevin’s been staying at a friend’s place in Thousand Oaks,’ the associate said. ‘He’s become a hermit and never goes out.’

The actor has also not been seen at his £2.3 million London flat.

With the exception of Spacey’s estranged brother Randy, not one person was prepared to go on the record to discuss the star.

One person who worked closely with Spacey claims to have received a call from the actor in which he was ‘genuinely baffled that everyone has turned their backs on him’.

‘He doesn’t understand why no one has stuck up for him,’ the colleague said. ‘He sounded quite indignant.’

But no one else, it seems, is surprised. ‘It’s typical Hollywood, no one will say a word about him because he’s just too toxic,’ his elder brother Randy, 62, said yesterday. ‘My brother was always an arrogant p**** and now karma has come round to bite him in the butt.

‘He was the goose who kept laying the golden eggs, so people protected him. Of course people close to him knew about his extra-curricular activities, but while he was making money they turned a blind eye.’

Randy has had no contact with his famous sibling for 15 years after giving an interview about their childhood which he says sent his ‘control freak’ brother ‘ballistic’.

But he says he believes that Spacey is ‘lying low’ in the belief the ‘water will cool’.

The star's downfall began in October 2017, when Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him in the star’s New York apartment in 1986

Randy, a limo driver and professional Rod Stewart impersonator from Boise, Idaho, believes his brother ‘is living on an island in the middle of nowhere’ while still satisfying his personal needs.

‘Kevin never came out as gay until he was accused of sexual assault, but I knew he was gay from the start,’ Randy said.

‘It was almost like he blamed his deviancy on being gay. I don’t think that went down well in Hollywood.

‘My brother is a narcissist. I truly believe he has no shame.

‘He has plenty of money to lie low and he will do.

‘Wherever he is, it will be somewhere where he can indulge his sexual preferences. There are plenty of places where, if you’ve got money, you can order up what you want and live a very nice life. I don’t think Kevin is suffering.

‘He could play the most evil characters but give them a sympathetic edge; make viewers believe there was always a chance of redemption. That’s what he’s hoping for in real life.’

In a memoir, Randy recounted the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of their father, Thomas.

‘Was Kevin abused too? It’s not something we ever discussed,’ he said. ‘Whatever went on at home with Kevin, it taught him to survive no matter what the circumstances. He’s in survival mode now.’

Indeed, The Mail on Sunday has been told Spacey has a two-year plan to rehabilitate himself.

A well-informed source in the industry said that it will be done in carefully managed stages, which will begin with friends starting to talk positively about him. Then, the actor will accept a small cameo role in a prestigious movie.

As one woman who has worked with Spacey for 40 years explained: ‘Kevin hasn’t been charged with anything.

His comeback is already being discussed. ‘First you will get celebrity friends saying, “He’s not so bad” and then he will accept a small role in an Oscar-contending movie which will showcase his talents and remind everyone what a fabulous actor he is.

‘If Mel Gibson [who infamously made anti-Semitic comments during a drunken tirade] can be forgiven, then why can’t Kevin? ‘Harvey Weinstein is facing criminal charges. It’s been a year and no criminal case has been brought against Kevin.’

The plan may have begun. A website, supportkevinspacey.com, is backed by an active Facebook page and is filled with supportive messages from fans.

Dame Judi Dench recently became the first high-profile name to defend the actor, saying he should not have been cut out of last year’s film All The Money In The World and replaced with Christopher Plummer.

Dench, who worked with Spacey on the 2001 film The Shipping News, said: ‘I can’t approve in any way of the fact that – whatever he has done – then you start to cut him out of films.

‘Are we to go back throughout history and anyone who has misbehaved in any way… are they always going to be cut out? Are we going to extrude them from our history?’

And earlier this month, actress Diane Lane, who stars in the new series of House Of Cards, also admitted she had ‘tremendous respect for his artistry’.

When asked about the allegations around Spacey and whether to take on the role, she added: ‘I didn’t have any judgment. It’s not my place to have any judgment.’

It is unclear who else, though, is on Spacey’s side. He has been dumped by his long-term agents at the Creative Artists Agency and his PR representatives at Polaris.

Dana Brunetti, Spacey’s long-term producing partner at Trigger Street Productions, refused to respond to multiple calls and emails seeking comment about the star.

His manager Evan Lowenstein, and business managers Frank Selvaggi and Barry Greenfield, also failed to return calls, and attempts to reach Spacey through his lawyer were similarly unsuccessful.

Such silence speaks volumes. It is not unknown for disgraced Hollywood stars to return to prominence – Mel Gibson, Woody Allen and Roman Polanski have prospered despite controversy.

But as one friend of Spacey’s said, wryly: ‘Only time will tell if Kevin can make one of the greatest comebacks ever.’