"The CPS has authorised criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men," Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said in a statement.
"The CPS has also authorised one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The authority to charge follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation."
Spacey will be charged if he is arrested in England or Wales, a CPS official said.
In November 2017, London's Old Vic theatre said it had received 20 separate allegations of inappropriate conduct by Spacey from 20 men who came into contact with him at the theatre, or in connection with it, between 1995 and 2013.
Spacey, once one of Hollywood's biggest stars, was dropped from the TV show House of Cards and removed from the movie All the Money in the World after the accusations of sexual misconduct came to light.
The 62-year-old, who won Oscars for best actor in American Beauty and best supporting actor in The Usual Suspects, has previously denied all accusations of misconduct.
Roberto Cavazos, an actor who worked at the Old Vic, where Spacey was artistic director between 2004 and 2015, said in 2017 he had encounters with the Hollywood star at the time "that verged on what you could call harassment".
