Kevin Spacey more spooked by 2016 than ‘House of Cards’

Playing a power-hungry pol with a predisposition for sacrificing anything (or anyone) to sate his oversized ego is all fine and good on the small screen. But “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey doesn’t watch the presidential vetting process spiral out of control in real life.

“It’s getting less amusing,” the actor, who Monday visited Washington to attend the unveiling of a portrait of the fake politician Frank Underwood scheduled to hang in the real National Portrait Gallery (more on that in a second), told reporters of the dizzying electoral contest.

The veteran actor has over the past three years exemplified our worst political fears, chewing up the scenery – and some of his fictional colleagues – as the amoral opportunist Underwood.

As Season 4 gets underway – the new series is to premiere March 4 on Netflix – his rise from conniving House majority leader to hell-bent-on-staying-put-in-the-Oval-Office has clearly taken a toll, leaving Underwood to mount a re-election bid without his equally devious better(?) half, Claire, by his side.

For Spacey, dealing with political dysfunction in the abstract is much more palatable than contemplating the actual state of affairs.

“I have an election to win myself. I can’t spend any time thinking about what’s going on in the real world,” he quipped when pressed about where the fictional Underwood might fit into the totally surreal 2016 race.

He brushed aside queries regarding his own candidate of choice. “It’s nothing but a trap door for me that I don’t want to fall through,” Spacey said.

He was much more forthcoming about his make-believe self, heaping praise on artist Jonathan Yeo for capturing the essence of the shady Underwood in so many carefully calculated brush strokes.

The image is rather arresting. Spacey, as Underwood, occupies the bulk of the frame, a smug look stretched across his face, while his right hand – sporting a signature signet ring – rests on his Oval Office desk, the knuckles positioned squarely towards the viewer, almost as if waiting to strike.

“I think that when it is hung at the right height you may wonder if I’m about to kick you in the face, which seems appropriate for this particular character,” Spacey said of the intentionally aggressive pose.

Yeo thanked Portrait Gallery staff for allowing him to play with perception, noting that he relished the opportunity to advance the “deliberate lowering of the distinction between reality and artifice.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Kevin Spacey more spooked by 2016 than ‘House of Cards’."