'House of Cards' alum Kate Mara reveals that Kevin Spacey's sexual misconduct scandal blindsided her
Kate Mara memorably played Zoe Barnes on 'House of Cards,' an ambitious journalist who stops at nothing to unearth the details surrounding a Congressman's death, using her relationship with Congressman Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, to delve deeper into the web of lies surrounding the incident, only to find herself pushed in front of an oncoming train by Underwood when she got too close to the truth.
In an interview with the New York Times, Mara opened up about her experience on the show and talked about her reaction to the news of Spacey's scandal and the resulting change in the plotline of the show that Spacey's exit warranted.
She was asked about what it was like being on 'House of Cards' and working with Spacey, and she replied, "I had a really amazing experience on that show for the 13 episodes I was on it." Mara was on the first season of the show until her character was killed by Spacey's character at the beginning of season 2.
Mara said that she was completely in the dark about the alleged sexual misconduct that led to Spacey being kicked off the show. She said, "No, that whole thing to me to this day is very shocking and devastating all around," expressing her surprise at the news of Spacey's misconduct.
The show was renewed for a final season following Spacey's departure, with Golden Globe Award-winning actress Robin Wright who plays Claire Underwood leading the show into its final episodes. Mara said that the actress was finally getting the spotlight she had always wanted her to get, saying, "Oh my God, I will tell you that from Day 1, I’ve been waiting for Robin to take over! There’s nobody like her."
After actor Anthony Rapp made allegations against Spacey saying that he made sexual advances on him when he was 14 years old, a number of crew members of productions that Spacey was a part of came forward to complain about past instances where the critically-acclaimed actor allegedly groped or harassed them sexually.
Spacey's response was to deny any memory of the incidents or to outright deny having done any of the things that he was accused of. However, he could not avoid the repercussions of the accusations. His show 'House of Cards' was axed by Netflix, a special Emmy he was due to receive was canceled, his representatives dropped him as a client, and Netflix also canceled the release of 'Gore', a film about Al Gore starring the disgraced actor.
At the time that the allegations were made, Spacey tried to brush them off by coming out as bisexual. However, his sudden decision to reveal his sexuality was met with harsh criticism with celebrities like Sue Perkins and Zachary Quinto slamming him and saying that his being gay did not excuse any of his actions. Josh Rivers, the editor of Gay Times told the BBC, "He doesn't get a pass just because he's gay." In fact, investigations are currently underway.
