In a new interview, Kevin Spacey has said that he believes his hit Netflix drama based on American politics House Of Cards “doesn’t go far enough” in portraying the madness of the American election.
Spacey plays President Frank Underwood in the popular drama, the fourth series for which intentionally runs a dramatic presidential campaign alongside the real life build up to the American elections.
In an interview with The Guardian published today (April 11), Spacey talks about the comparison between the series and the real elections, saying he “will go to my hotel room and wonder ‘have we gone too far … have we crossed the Rubicon” by creating “something unbelievable … then I turn on the TV and watch the news … then I think we haven’t gone far enough.”
Spacey added: “We just need to remember he’s a fictional character and that some of the candidates running appear to be fictional too.”
PressTalking of the shows parallels with the real election campaign, Spacey said it’s “been very interesting for audiences everywhere but US audiences in particular.” He attributes the show’s success to it’s universal view, adding “it seems to translate [across] borders … not just because people are fascinated by US politics but because of the politics of life all over the world.”
In the early days of House Of Cards, Barack Obama was offered a cameo in the show, when he met with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
Hastings asked “Are you willing to do a little cameo?” when Obama asked for a preview of season two. Obama responded by joking: “I wish things were that ruthlessly efficient” and expressing his admiration for Kevin Spacey’s US congressman character Frank Underwood.
Spacey’s character Underwood is responsible for a number of deaths in the Netflix series, including (spoiler ahead) – through his right hand man – that of a father who is bumped from an organ donor list favour of the president, after Underwood is a shot on the campaign trail.
