House of Cards showrunner: ‘I don’t think it’s about politics at all’

There is no one route in to the deeply competitive world of television drama, but Beau Willimon avoided the most obvious options of media production or interning.

Willimon (36) is one of the youngest showrunners (an umbrella term for a role that combines writing, script-editing and generally overseeing the look and feel of a show) in TV. When director David Fincher approached him about coming on board a new Netflix show called House of Cards, he had reservations.

“I was mostly writing for stage and film and wasn’t ready to jump at doing a TV show. I also knew how much a TV show could take over your life, but then the opportunity to talk to David Fincher was worth it in and of itself.”

Fincher, director of Gone Girl and Seven, had seen Willimon's play Farragut North (later made into the film The Ides of March) and asked him to take a look at the original BBC series House of Cards from 1990. "If you write about politics at all, as I had, I knew about the BBC series, but hadn't seen the show. I watched it, had a bazillion ideas and thought, oh shit, this is something I might have to do."

The original BBC series, based on Michael Dobbs's novels, focuses on a Conservative Party chief of staff. Willimon's update moves across the Atlantic and centres on an ambitious South Carolina senator, played with Machiavellian gusto by Kevin Spacey. There is a highly theatrical charge to Spacey's portrayal and this goes back to Willimon's own pre-TV background. He worked as a painter and playwright and believes his years as a dramatist were crucial.

"Theatre was my first love. It got me excited about storytelling. The notion that you could put words on a piece of paper, and real human beings would stand up and tell a story, was incredibly seductive. You learn a lot of things making theatre, and I hire a lot of playwrights to work on House of Cards. If a scene is 20 minutes long, it all comes down to human behaviour. You can't rely on effects or close-ups or editing; there's nowhere to hide.

“If you want structure, go read all of Ibsen; if you want human frailty and nuance, read Chekhov; and if you want a little bit of everything, read Shakespeare, or go back to the Greeks.”

It was important to Willimon and Fincher that this not be an adaptation. They wanted to invent the story from the ground up and not feel bound by the novels or the BBC version. All agreed that the casting of the central role was key.

"We knew the entire show would live or die on the two roles of Frank and Claire. Right away we went to Kevin, whom David [Fincher] had worked with on Seven, but it was also very important to me that we paid equal attention to the wife. I didn't want Claire [Robin Wright] to be arm candy or trophy wife, I wanted to track these two people who are unlike any other couple."

The couple’s relationship is at the centre of the show, as Frank Underwood (Spacey) embarks on a journey of ambition. He is charismatic, morally bankrupt, two-faced and obsessed with climbing the ladder.

As we speak, Willimon is in Baltimore in the final month of filming for season three, which sees Spacey (no spoilers) rise significantly in politics. Although occasionally filmed in Baltimore, the show is set in the legislative heartland of Washington DC. It helps that Willimon has some political experience in his past, having interned on two senator campaigns and on Howard Dean's 2004 presidential race. Despite this, and the broad thematic backdrop of the politics, the show is about much more than that.

"I don't think it's a show about politics at all," says Willimon, laughing. "Like all the best things in life, I did those jobs on a lark. I was young and I didn't do it thinking one day I would write about that. Politics is just a sliver of what I write about, and, if House of Cards is about anything, it's about power. Power exists in every story, the dynamics of who has it – lovers, strangers, co-workers. It's in every story ever told."

Single upload

The show airs on Netflix, not terrestrial TV, and an entire series is uploaded in one go. The nature of TV consumption has changed, but so has the form itself. Longer narrative arcs have nudged out the cliffhanger, while greater depth of character has replaced tropes.

Actors happily shuffle between TV and film in a way they wouldn’t have 20 years ago, and Willimon thinks this is important.

"TV has become so sophisticated and complex that it's useless to draw distinctions between television and film. There are certain formal differences but even they're falling away. TV is experiencing its own maturity, but if you look at some of the early shows, they're some of the best stories ever told. A show like M*A*S*H was incredibly provocative in terms of the social issues it took on. They matched it with comedy, and it's very bold compared to some of what we see on TV today."

On November 27th, Willimon will be in Galway for the annual Talking Production seminar at the Galway Film Centre, which runs over two days and includes seminars and talks with programme and film practitioners from TV shows The Bridge, Love/Hate and The Fall and forthcoming feature films Brooklyn and The Lobster.

Aspiring writers

What does Willimon most want to get across to aspiring television writers? “There’s no substitute for doing the work. The only way to find your voice and improve is to write thousands of pages or shoot thousands of frames, or, if you’re an actor, find ways to act. Doing it is the only way to learn.

“It’s also impossible to do this alone. I don’t just meant the collaborative nature of the form, but you have to find the people in your life – friends, family, other writers – who will champion you. People who will be honest with you and tell you when your stuff is shit. Find the writers you trust, find them early on and hold on to them for dear life.”

Now embedded in season three of House of Cards, he says it's hard to find time for other projects, but he is working on a documentary about transsexual surfer Westerly Windina and is still writing plays.

"I always find room for other work, because if I didn't I'd go insane. It's important and healthy to get out of the bubble. It gives you perspective and feeds back into House of Cards. I've never left theatre and I did a play last year, but can't say what else I'm working on. I'm too superstitious."

[ galwayfilmcentre.ie ]