Kevin McCarthy Claims He's Not Like Kevin Spacey's Character Frank Underwood On 'House Of Cards'

by UInterviewApril 3, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Kevin McCarthy says he does not resemble Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood character on House of Cards. The fictional Underwood is the House Majority Whip and a ruthless competitor who demonstrated throughout the Netflix original series’s first season that he possessed the capacity for manipulation, infidelity and murder.

“It's not really accurate,” McCarthy told BusinessInsider. “We don't murder animals or members or anything like that. And we would never be sitting in our office when a vote is going on on the floor.”

McCarthy said he runs a more laid back ship, one that is a “start-up of ideas” rather than a tense, high-stakes environment like the one depicted in the show. However, he did agree to help Spacey get into character. "When he first wanted to talk to me, I didn't want to talk to him because I knew how it was going to be portrayed, it was going to be Hollywood," McCarthy said. “But then I found out that he was supposed to be a Democrat and I had no problem.”

McCarthy is a Republican representative from California’s 23rd congressional district, which covers a majority of Bakersfield. He has been the Majority Whip since 2011.

House of Cards, which stars Spacey, along with Robin Wright and Kate Mara, started production on its highly anticipated second season in March.