Kevin Spacey will play The Devil in the Italian film 'The Contract'.

The 64-year-old actor is continuing his efforts to rebuild his career by featuring in the psychological thriller from director Massimo Paolucci alongside Eric Roberts and Vincent Spano.

The English-language movie has recently wrapped principal photography in Rome and is described as having a similar plotline to Alan Parker's 'Angel Heart' and Taylor Hackford's 'The Devil's Advocate'.

Spacey arrived in the Italian capital in December to shoot the picture and his character 'The Devil' is described as similar to Al Pacino's part in 'The Devil's Advocate' – as satan who takes the guise of a human lawyer.

Producers Massimiliano Caroletti and Sandro Lazzarini say they "courted" Spacey for eight months to convince him to take the role.

The Oscar-winning star's career came crashing down in 2017 after he was accused of sexual misconduct but he was found not guilty of sexually assaulting four men at a court trial in the UK last July.

On the steps of the Southwark Crown Court in London after the verdicts were delivered, the 'American Beauty' star said: "I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process after what has just happened today.

"But I would like to say that I’m enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts, carefully, before they reached their decision.

"I am humbled by the outcome today."

Spacey is also set to play the lead role in the thriller 'Peter Five Eight' in a raunchy turn as a hitman.

A trailer for the movie shows his character getting rid of a body, spending a night with a woman called Brenda and gunning down a man in broad daylight.