Ridley Scott proud to 'lay down the law' and recast Kevin Spacey

It took a week after Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct for the actor to be completely cut from his big December movie release, and director Ridley Scott says it was an easy decision.

“There’s no time for pondering,” Scott told Entertainment Weekly of the decision to reshoot with another actor. “Sometimes you’ve got to lay down the law. You have to!”

When the allegations against Spacey first surfaced, Scott was shocked, but quickly kicked into gear.

"I sat and thought about it and realized, we cannot. You can’t tolerate any kind of behavior like that. And it will affect the film," he said. "We cannot let one person’s action affect the good work of all these other people. It’s that simple."

Scott had Christopher Plummer's name in the back of his mind since casting and flew to New York to meet with the actor. He felt out the possibility of extra filming and found days when everyone was available.

"Before you can make the decision you have to make these quick phone calls around — not to the actors directly, but to the agents — saying there’s a possibility I may need some pickups [a.k.a. additional shooting days]," he explained. "You don’t say why because of the gossip, but of course it was really for something much more significant."

Scott was happy with Spacey's performance in the film, but, unlike some in Hollywood, was able to comprehend the idea that a person can be more than one thing; a fine actor can still be a sexual harasser.

"I had no idea...You never see that," Scott said. "But you can’t condone that kind of behavior in any shape or form."

Scott has been reshooting since Nov. 20 with Plummer and the other actors, and All the Money in the World is still scheduled to release on Dec. 22.

“When this idea was hatched, I immediately started to feel better," Michelle Williams told EW. "This doesn’t do anything to ease the suffering of people who were all too personally affected by Kevin Spacey, but it is our little act of trying to right a wrong. And it sends a message to predators — you can’t get away with this anymore. Something will be done.”

Read Scott's full chat with Entertainment Weekly here.