Kevin Spacey had no trouble slipping into the role of a "wily politician" for his upcoming TV drama House Of Cards because the character is based on William Shakespeare's Richard III, who the actor recently portrayed onstage.
The American Beauty star has reteamed with his Seven director David Fincher for the project, which is a U.S. remake of the hit British mini-series of the same name, and Spacey admits he had plenty of practise thanks to his latest London and New York theatre stints.
He tells U.S. breakfast show Today, "It's actually based on a very popular British series in the 1980s about a wily politician worming his way to becoming prime minister, and oddly enough, it was based on Richard Iii, which I've just spent the last 10 months of the last year performing around the world, so I feel like I've had a good 10 months of rehearsal to play this character."
And the Oscar winner is warning fans the show will be like no other: "David Fincher and I are doing it, it's been an extraordinary experience to sort of delve into that world of politics and power and greed and ambition and all that, and as David and I like to say, 'It ain't (sic) your daddy's West Wing!'"
The political thriller will be the first original programming for online streaming service Netflix and is expected to launch next year (13).