Compared to real politics 'House of Cards' doesn't go far enough, says Kevin Spacey - CNET

Compared to the dramatic and bizarre antics of real American politicians, "House of Cards" doesn't go far enough, says Kevin Spacey.

Spacey plays devious politician Frank Underwood in the drama, whose fourth season went live on Netflix at the same time as the US presidential campaign makes headlines. "We'll have a storyline that we'll be attacking and I wonder have we gone too far?" he said. "Have we crossed the rubicon? Is this unbelievable, or kind of crazy? Then I tu on the television and watch the news -- and we haven't gone far enough."

Asked how Underwood compared to some of the real-life candidates currently making headlines, Spacey drily remarked, "We need to remember that he's a fictional character -- and some of the candidates ruing appear to be fictional characters..."

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The actor was speaking on stage at an event in Paris held by Netflix, the streaming service that produces "House of Cards" and other exclusive shows.

Spacey describes "House of Cards" as a "parallel universe" in which the show's creators timed their fictional election to coincide with the real election. "It's interesting to look at politics and look at how we expose things in our programme," he said.

Spacey said that of the politicians he knows, some say "House of Cards" offers a cynical view of politics, while others tell him "It's closer to the truth than anyone would like to know..."