How Netflix hit House Of Cards weathered a real-life sex scandal

KEVIN Spacey’s very public #MeToo moment was life-altering for House Of Cards. Now, the show’s stars explain how they weathered the storm.

WHEN allegations surfaced in October last year of Kevin Spacey’s sexual misconduct, shockwaves echoed throughout the entertainment community.

But for the cast and crew of House Of Cards, it was life-altering. No more so than for his partner in crime, Robin Wright, who has played First Lady to his President Underwood for the past six years.

Wright, who also serves as executive producer on the show, says matter-of-factly of the first day on set sans Spacey: “We pulled up our bootstraps and got to work.”

Production abruptly ceased two days after Spacey was accused of making unwanted sexual advances in 1986 towards then 14-year-old actor Anthony Rapp (Star Trek). It was decided his character would be killed off, though the season had already started shooting.

“We had to start over. And with a rewrite there was a lot of work to do,” Wright says.

“The atmosphere on the set (without Spacey) took some getting used to for the actors. It was definitely something to adapt to collectively. We had to take the time to process what happened, so the producers and Netflix had multiple discussions. That’s why we shut down for a few months and really weighed the options (for the future).”

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood — now, Madam President.

There was much concern not only for the cast but the crew, whose very employment was in danger.

“When you spend six years together, like everyone who does a TV series, the cast becomes their family. We spend more time together than we do with our own families, and we are a support system for one another,” Wright says.

It was less than a month after the Harvey Weinstein bombshell hit The New York Times that the #metoo movement took hold, and Spacey was one of the first in what would become a slew of disgraced Hollywood heavyweights. Wright says she still hasn’t had any contact with Spacey since the scandal broke, and says in retrospect, “The climate was so intense at the time; nobody knew what to do. All of this was at the forefront of the news.”

In a case of reality imitating art, Wright, who has also served as House Of Cards director for nine episodes, said President Trump’s administration has paralleled the political thriller’s premise in the last two seasons. This includes President Frank Underwood’s proposed immigration ban, congressional hearings, and leaks to the media, as well as Russia’s attempt to take advantage of a divided America.

“It was weird. Sometimes with what was happening in (Washington) DC, you’d predict what could happen with our current President, and then he would trump us, no pun intended, and then we’d realise, ‘Now we can’t use that idea!’ so we were constantly having to change the script,” she says.

Spacey left the show after his very public scandal.

Given that many of the plot points on the show have eerily preceded some of Mr Trump’s decisions in the White House, perhaps the arrival of America’s first female president in Claire Underwood could be the precursor to the first woman in the Oval Office?

Wright breaks into a smile. “Well, I am not giving up hope. Maybe there’s some magic dust that’s going to be brought down from above that will bring some kind of change. That’s what we need, right?”

Joining the show, Diane Lane — another formidable woman — brings another layer of tension playing Annette Shepherd.

“The show is very much a family and it was nice to be invited to join that family. I came on in the caboose of the train, but by golly, it’s one hell of a train,” she says.

She shares a complicated relationship with Madam President.

“There’s a backstory between Claire and Annette because they’ve known each other since they were young, and now that they’re older they get in each other’s way.”

Weighing in on the Spacey controversy, Lane says, “I felt that Netflix and Media Rights Capital were beautiful in how they handled not only doing the right thing in a highly volatile moment of Zeitgeist, but also in terms of the way they were concerned about the honour of the original intention of the show, and looking after the crew.”

Greg Kinnear, who plays Annette’s brother, Bill, says, “I was already on the show (when the scandal broke), so for me it was about sitting back and seeing how it was going to unfold.” He hadn’t yet performed any scenes with Spacey.

“You know, I was excited to be on the show and I was looking forward to obviously what would be our interaction, but then it all happened, as you know, very quickly.

All smiles: Cast members Michael Kelly, Robin Wright and Patricia Clarkson at the new season premiere. Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

“But I was incredibly happy (the show would continue) and I think part of that credit is due to Robin Wright. She said, ‘No. We are not done with this. We are going to pick this back up and run with it.’ And I felt like the actors deserved that — the show has a great legacy to it, and the fans deserved that, too.”

Now that those in power are routinely being called out for unacceptable behaviour, does he feel there’s an escalating sense of nervousness among men in Hollywood?

“Well, a lot of people that have been called out didn’t realise that they had maybe made someone uncomfortable or had done something (wrong),” he says.

And what about Kinnear? “No,” he laughs, shaking his head. “I haven’t had any sleepless nights, I am happy to say.”

Now that the sibling team is becoming integral to the upcoming series, what does he think about the possibility of a Shepherd family spin-off?

Without hesitation, he declares: “I am all in!”

House of Cards season 6 is set to drop on Netflix on November 2.