Frank Underwood is in the midst of a re-election campaign on "House of Cards," but Kevin Spacey will not comment on real-life American politics except to say, "I happen to believe that we get what we deserve."
Spacey called it "silly" to compare his fictional Netflix series with the 2016 race for the White House and deflected such questions from reporters on the red carpet for the fourth season premiere of "House of Cards" at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. on Monday night, according to The Hill.
"They're both a little bit unpredictable in that audiences have no idea where we're gonna go and what we're gonna do, and I think that's part of the enjoyment that an audience has - they don't really know," the 56-year-old actor told The Hill. "And in the real world - I mean now it's becoming a little more predictable, what's going to happen."
The Oscar winner added, "At the same time, I happen to believe that we get what we deserve."
The line sounds quite similar to the one Underwood uttered in his campaign ad, "The Leader We Deserve," a teaser to promote season four.
"They say we get the leaders we deserve. I think American deserves Frank Underwood, and in your heart, you know I'm right," he eerily stated.
Spacey didn't mind mixing a little fiction with reality at the premiere event when he slipped into Underwood's Southern drawl to film a promo for the Netflix series that shows his character's portrait being unveiled at the Smithsonian institution.
"It's a humbling experience to be included here among so many extraordinary leaders," Spacey, as Underwood, said to the crowd gathered. "Now I'm told this portrait will hang for the first six months in the entrance hall here at the Smithsonian and I wonder if the 30 million people who visit this institution every year will pass by this portrait and see the image of a calm, determined president ready for any challenge or if this painting is hung at just the right height viewers will wonder instead if I'm about to kick them in the face."
Once the cameras stopped rolling, Spacey dropped the accent and said, "I'm incredibly honored to be hung in the Smithsonian. Oh that's right, I made that joke," according to The Hill. He added, "It's really fun to blur fact and fiction to the point where no one f---king knows what's going on."
Earlier in the night, Spacey referenced Edward R. Murrow and the warning he made in 1964 about the news becoming entertainment to make money and get ratings. "So if people are bothered by the fact that we seem to be having entertainment as news, it's because the news divisions decided that money and ratings were more important than reporting," he told The Hill.
Season four of "House of Cards" will premiere on Friday, March 4 on Netflix.
