Film is very condensed.

I don't play villainy. I wouldn't even know how to play it.

I guess I've been training in the theater for as long as I can remember.

Francis Underwood was entirely based on Richard III. When Michael Dobbs wrote 'House of Cards' in the original British series, Richard III is what he based the character on.

The audience, the place you're in, has everything to do with how your performance goes.

I don't categorize characters into one syllable. These are fully-rounded characters that I don't judge; I just play them.

It's interesting to play a politician who gets stuff done.

Being an actor sometimes requires that you ask yourself questions you'd rather not know the answers to.

There's nothing like standing in a place and wanting nothing so much as to change but simply not being able to.

Bobby Darin was one of the first to take black musicians on the road with his band, and there were places that didn't want him to play, and he stood up to it.

I felt that I shouldn't be an actor who just makes movie after movie in a quest for prestige and money.

I couldn't imagine something asking as much of me as 'House Of Cards.' It's a great warm-up for coming back to the screen.

I've never done a movie that's shot more than 40 days because I just don't do those kinds of films.

You can almost hear people saying, 'We're going to make a movie about an election' and 'We're going to make a movie about a lobbyist.' You can hear the yawning start across the nation.

In film, movies' schedules are based on three things: actors' availabilities, when are sets being built, when you can rent the place you're going to film in.

I'm not revolted by Washington.

There are times when you do a play when you are living in the character over a two-and-a-half-hour period or longer, and you come to the end of the night, and you can feel like you were hit by a truck.

I certainly identify with the role of mentor and, to some degree, maybe teacher. I do a lot of work with kids at the Old Vic.

The Old Vic has always been first and foremost an actors' theatre, a home for great talent and memorable performances.

I'm not going to make general comments about the British press.

Games are advancing in terms of storytelling and trying to create a character, and it's a brand new audience for me.

I've taken the experiences that I've had in the theatre and applied them to film and television and now games.

I have never played a game in my life.

If you ignore the murdering and the conniving, Francis Underwood is an effective politician.