Kevin Spacey back as Frank Underwood - Star stays true to bizarre Christmas tradition
Since the scandal surrounding Kevin Spacey (64) in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the Hollywood star has made it a tradition to post a video in the role of his "House of Cards" character Frank Underwood at Christmas time. At the end of 2023, he once again briefly slipped into the cunning and unscrupulous character from the Netflix series. Under the title "Being Frank With Tucker", Spacey published a YouTube clip in which he conducts a fake interview with Tucker Carlson (54) - the fired TV presenter whose questionable views had recently become too sensitive even for the controversial US news channel Fox News.
"We have something in common," says Carlson, to which Spacey, alias Underwood, replies: "Oh yes, we were both thrown out by our network." Spacey is alluding to his sacking from the streaming service Netflix. Around six years ago, as more and more people came forward with accusations against the star, his "House of Cards" role in the sixth and final season was unceremoniously and casually killed off. "Do you still watch Netflix?" Carlson asks, to which Spacey replies: "Probably about as much as you still watch Fox."
Reckoning with Netflix
This is followed by his reckoning with the streaming service, in which the boundaries between real and fictional person seem to be blurred. Or, as Spacey somewhat bizarrely summarizes: "What is true and what is false? What is life and what is art? What is real and what is acting? I love it when these things overlap, because that's when it gets really interesting." Addressing his former employer, he adds: "I don't think the question even arises - Netflix only exists thanks to me. I made them big and they tried to run me into the ground."
Of course, Spacey/Underwood also brings himself up as a candidate for the upcoming 2024 presidential election in the course of the "interview". "We need someone in the White House who is not afraid - like me. Not afraid to push our country - or a journalist - in the right direction." The perfidious allusion: In "House of Cards," Spacey's character pushed a journalist who was threatening to get to him in front of an incoming subway train....
Is he damaging his comeback plans?
With his video and his choice of interviewee, Spacey may have once again done himself a disservice. The actor posted one of his Frank Underwood videos for the first time in 2018, causing a stir and sometimes incomprehension.
Most recently, however, the two-time Oscar winner was able to celebrate great success: a New York court found him not guilty in 2022 and finally a court in London at the end of July 2023. Several men had previously accused him of sexual assault. In March 2024, he will also appear in his first US feature film since the allegations - the indie thriller "Peter Five Eight".
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- Despite the controversy surrounding him, Kevin Spacey continued his bizarre Christmas tradition by publishing a YouTube clip as Frank Underwood, conducting a fake interview with Tucker Carlson.
- In the video, Spacey referenced their shared experience of being ousted from their respective networks, alluding to his dismissal from Netflix and Carlson's departure from Fox News.
- The Netflix star also addressed his reduced viewing of the streaming platform, saying, "Probably about as much as you still watch Fox."
- Spacey's character, Underwood, further criticized Netflix, suggesting that the streaming service owed its success to him.
- The actor also used the opportunity to promote his upcoming political role in the movie "Peter Five Eight," set to release in March 2024.
- This wasn't Spacey's first festive video as Underwood – in 2018, he caused a stir with his first post, followed by the London court's acquittal in 2023.
Source: www.stern.de
