Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey will go on trial in London next year after pleading not guilty to accusations of sex offences dating back almost 20 years.

Mr Spacey is accused of five offences in Britain — four counts of sexual assault by touching, and a more serious charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

Prosecutors say Mr Spacey forced a man to have oral sex.

Speaking clearly, the 62-year-old American actor and producer, whose name was given as Kevin Spacey Fowler, said "not guilty" when each of the charges were put to him at London's Old Bailey Central Criminal Court on Thursday.

Wearing glasses and a light blue suit, he sat impassively in the dock during the 20-minute hearing as a trial date of June 6 next year was agreed.

It is likely to be at the Old Bailey, the venue for Britain's highest-profile criminal trials, and will last between three to four weeks.

The judge continued the actor's unconditional bail, and said another pre-trial hearing would be held early in 2023.

"Thank you, my Lord," he told the judge at the end of the hearing.

He made no comment as he left court and was ushered through a crowd of photographers and camera crews into a chauffeur-driven car.

Spacey's lawyer previously said the actor "strenuously denies" the allegations.

If found guilty of sexual assault, Mr Spacey could face a six-month prison sentence or an unlimited fine, while the more serious offence carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Police said the alleged assaults occurred between March 2005 and April 2013 — four in London and one in Gloucestershire, in the west of England. They involved one man who is now in his 40s and two men now in their 30s.

Once one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Mr Spacey has largely disappeared from public view since being accused of sexual misconduct five years ago.

The 62-year-old, who won Oscars for best actor in American Beauty and best supporting actor in The Usual Suspects, was dropped from the TV show House of Cards and removed from the movie All the Money in the World after the accusations came to light.

Reuters / AP