Actor John Jarratt says he is "relieved" and "over the moon" after he was found not guilty of raping his female housemate in Sydney's east more than 40 years ago.

Jarratt, 66, faced trial in the NSW District Court this week after he pleaded not guilty to raping the woman, then aged 19, in September 1976 at the Randwick house they shared with his wife Rosa Miano.

An animated John Jarratt celebrates his not guilty verdict on Friday, alongside his wife Rosa Miano. Credit:AAP

The woman said Jarratt smelled of alcohol when he entered her room about 3am and woke her by pulling off her sheet and blanket. She said he was wearing a long black leather coat, ripped off her T-shirt and underwear, pinned her down, put his hand over her mouth and raped her. She went to police in 2017.

Jarratt denied forcing himself on the woman and said they had consensual sex as his wife slept, after the woman invited him into her room about 10.30pm and seduced him.