Robin Wright talks 'calculating' 'House of Cards' character

NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The second season of House of Cards is just around the corner, which means more of Kevin Spacey's power-hunger Frank Underwood and more of his cold but beautifully coiffed wife, Claire.

Robin Wright, who's experienced a career resurgence playing Claire, told the Telegraph Sunday that she doesn't see her character as heartless.

“I don’t see Claire as cruel. I see her as calculating," Wright said. "She’s a businesswoman. If you’re the head of a business, there’s a protocol that people have to follow. If you get in her way, or you mess up, or you’re late for work, you’re out. Sorry. That’s just the way that CEOs run their companies. That’s why they’re successful.”

Wright won a Golden Globe for her portrayal, but told the New York Times last week that she's ready to get behind the camera. She directed an episode of the second season, which hits Netflix in its entirety on Feb. 14.

“I said, ‘I want to, too,’ and I kept saying that to multiple parties,” she said. “They said, ‘Yeah sure,’ and I just kept saying it over and over. I was and am serious. I’m tired of biting my tongue. As an actor, I had noticed very vividly that very few directors know how to direct actors, because they haven’t done it. I’m not at all sure I know what I am doing, but I know what brings good work out of actors.”

Wright's career has been up and down since the Princess Bride became her big break in 1987.

“It’s surreal,” she said of the renewed attention. “But I’m excited because I got into the business of acting in order to move and touch people, and I think the award means that I’m succeeding at that.”

[Telegraph, New York Times]