Kevin Spacey has reignited his Christmas Eve tradition of posting a bizarre video of himself as his “House of Cards” character, Frank Underwood. This year, Spacey sat down for an interview with Tucker Carlson, where the two discussed Netflix and the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“Every time a person pulls up the Netflix app. You’re there in some way, have you seen this?” Carlson asked, playing the Netflix “tudum” intro sound.
“Yes, you know what that is?” Spacey said, then pounded his fist on the table like Underwood does in “House of Cards.” “Boom, boom. So it is bizarre they decided to publicly cut ties with me on allegations alone, allegations that have now been proven false. Because I don’t think there’s any question. Netflix exists because of me. I put them on the map and they tried to put me in the ground.”
“House of Cards” was one of Netflix’s most popular shows when it launched in 2013 as one of its first original streaming series. Spacey played power-hungry U.S. President Frank Underwood until Season 6, when he was fired after facing sexual misconduct allegations. He denied the accusations, and in 2022 he was found not liable in a sexual battery lawsuit in New York. In 2023, Spacey was cleared of sexual assault charges in a U.K. trial.
Spacey remained in character as Underwood for the duration of the seven-minute interview with Carlson, even suggesting in character that he would run for president.
“I think we could both agree that we need to get some adults back in the room, so if that means taking on the chief executive role, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for this nation,” Spacey said. “Our country needs to stop apologizing and stiffen up. We have so many people running with so many different issues, like gun control, but let’s be honest. More people are killed by online trolls everyday.
Carlson asked him what he thought of the 2024 election candidates who have already dropped out of the race.
“It’s a little bit like jumping in the jacuzzi with a boner,” Spacey responded. “You know it ain’t gonna last forever. So I wasn’t surprised when Mike ‘A Little Too Pensive’ dropped out right away.”
As for the candidates still running, Spacey said, “I like Vivek ‘Drain the Ramaswamy’ and Nikki Haley is tough. She’s no doubt learned a thing or two from watching me. But I think in the end we need someone in the White House who’s not afraid like me.”
“Not afraid to push our country, or a journalist, in the right direction, if it comes to that,” Spacey continued, referencing a scene in “House of Cards” where Underwood pushes journalist Zoe Barnes (played by Kate Mara) in front of a train before she had the chance to expose his wrongdoing.
Carlson also questioned Spacey about when he’s getting back to work, to which Spacey replied, “I’ve been getting back at work the moment we started talking, Tucker.”
“Does that mean this is, like, an episode, or is it real?” Tucker asked.
“It’s probably a little of both,” Spacey said. “I mean, Tucker, what’s true and what’s false? What’s life and what’s art? What’s real, what’s performance? I love it when these things intersect because then it gets interesting.”
Spacey’s strange tradition began in 2018, when he released his first video after facing several allegations of sexual assault, which soon derailed his career in Hollywood. Amid the accusations, Spacey posted the video, titled “Let Me Be Frank,” in the guise of Underwood, who was killed off in the sixth and final season of the Netflix series. Speaking directly to the camera, as Underwood did on “House of Cards,” Spacey eerily referenced both the sexual assault allegations against him and Underwood’s death.
“Despite all the poppycock, the animosity, the headlines, the impeachment without a trial. Despite even my own death, I feel surprisingly good and my confidence grows each day that soon enough you will know the full truth,” he said in 2018.
Spacey followed up in 2019 with a similar video as Underwood, this time asking for kindness in the world. “As we walk into 2020, I want to cast my vote for more good in this world,” he said. “Ah yes, I know what you’re thinking. Can he be serious? I’m dead serious. And it’s not that hard, trust me. The next time someone does something you don’t like, you can go on the attack. But you can also hold your fire and do the unexpected. You can kill them with kindness,” he said.
Spacey’s 2020 video took a more somber turn, with the actor speaking as himself and urging people who were struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic to seek help.
In November, Spacey and his companies were ordered to pay nearly $31 million to MRC, the production company behind “House of Cards,” for violating the company’s sexual harassment policy. Earlier this year, he received his first film role since the sexual assault allegations in a low-budget Italian indie film titled “L’uomo Che Disegnò Dio.” Before that, his last film role came in 2018’s “Billionaire Boys Club,” which was shot before the sexual assault allegations came to light and went ahead with a theatrical release, where it earned a dismal $2.8 million at the box office.
