主演凱文・史派西談《紙牌屋》

In Season 1 of the inside-the-Beltway drama 'House of Cards,' fictitious Congressman Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) carried on a quid pro quo affair with a young journalist and baited a political ally with a prostitute and then killed him, all in service to his bottomless ambition: to be one heartbeat away from the presidency.

在華府宮斗大戲《紙牌屋》(House of Cards)第一季裏，凱文・史派西(Kevin Spacey)飾演的國會議員弗蘭克・安德伍德(Frank Underwood)跟一位年輕的記者發生了一段各有所圖的關係，還用一名妓女引誘一位政治同盟上鉤，然後殺死了他，這一切都服務於他深不可測的野心：坐上總統旁邊的位置。

The series was a huge risk for the streaming service Netflix -- and not just because Mr. Spacey's character broke the vaunted 'fourth wall' and talked directly to the audience. It cost more than $100 million to produce the first two seasons.

對於流媒體服務商Netflix來講，播出這部連續劇冒了很大的風險──不僅是因爲史派西的角色打破了被人誇耀的“第四堵牆”，直接跟觀衆對話。頭兩季的製作耗資便超過了一億美元。

But like Mr. Underwood, 'House of Cards' ultimately triumphed. Helped by the success of the first season, as well as other original programs that followed, Netflix added 2.3 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing its total in the U.S. to 33.4 million -- more than HBO. 'House of Cards' was also a critical sensation, winning three primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe. The second batch of 13 episodes will be released Feb. 14.

但和安德伍德一樣，《紙牌屋》最後勝利了。由於第一季以及後來的其他原創節目取得成功，2013年第四季度 Netflix的訂戶增加了230萬，美國訂戶總數達3,340萬，超過HBO。《紙牌屋》在評論界也引起了轟動，贏得三個黃金時段艾美獎和一個金球獎。第二季共13集，已於2月14日播出。

The two-time Academy Award winner, 54, is getting ready to leave his post as the artistic director of London's storied Old Vic Theater next year, to focus more on film and television projects, as well as his eponymous foundation, which supports aspiring actors around the world. Edited excerpts from a recent conversation:

現年54歲、兩度獲得奧斯卡獎的史派西準備在明年辭去赫赫有名的倫敦老維克劇院(Old Vic Theater)的藝術總監的職務，把更多精力放在電影和電視項目，以及支持全世界胸懷抱負演員的以他名字命名的基金會上面。以下是經過編輯的近期對史派西的訪談：

WSJ: Frank Underwood ended last season having achieved what was a surprising goal, getting named Vice President. A lot of critics said -- after all those lies, a murder, this was his objective? Vice president?

《華爾街日報》：上一季結束時，弗蘭克・安德伍德實現了一個出人意料的目標，即榮登副總統寶座。很多評論家說，經過這麼多謊言和一樁謀殺案之後，難道這就是他的目標？副總統？

A: I don't give two s---s about what other people think.

史派西：我纔不管別人怎麼想呢。

WSJ: I can't help but suspect that he has a more sinister agenda here, which was hinted at in the Season 2 trailer. Frank conspiratorially tells the audience that 'democracy is so overrated,' because he ascended to the vice presidency without a single vote.

《華爾街日報》：我不由得猜想他在這裏有着一個更加邪惡的企圖，這在第二季片花裏面已經有暗示。弗蘭克充滿深意地跟觀衆說，“大家對民主的評價太高了”，因爲他不經任何選舉就上升到了副總統的職位。

A: I am going to be very circumspect because I do not want to discuss where the show's going. I think in Season 2 there will be a lot of intrigue and surprises and things people won't expect.

史派西：我可得非常小心了，因爲我不想討論戲演到了什麼地方。我認爲第二季會有很多陰謀詭計和意外，以及人們不會料到的事情。

WSJ: A lot of your most memorable characters have been these complex villains -- do you prefer playing unconventional bad guys?

《華爾街日報》：在你飾演的讓人難忘的角色當中，有很多都是這種複雜的反面角色──你是不是喜歡扮演非常規的壞人？

A: I started out doing stand-up comedy, so I do lots of things that are very funny. Only two years ago did I tackle 'Richard III,' which is the first Shakespearean villain I have ever taken on in my career. So it's not about what I prefer or that I go out and pursue these things specifically because I want to be the Machiavellian guy.

史派西：我最開始是表演單口喜劇的，所以我做的很多事情都是非常有趣的。兩年前我才接演《理查三世》(Richard III)，那是我從藝以來扮演的第一個莎士比亞反面角色。所以說不是我喜歡演什麼，也不是因爲我想飾演馬基雅維利主義者的形象而專門去追求這些東西。

WSJ: Did you ever expect that your keynote speech last year at the Edinburgh International Television Festival -- in which you said that appointment television was over -- would go so viral?

《華爾街日報》：去年你在愛丁堡國際電視節(Edinburgh International Television Festival)發表的主旨演講，說守着電視機看電視(appointment television)的時代已經結束了。有沒有料到這篇演講會如此走紅？

A: There are a lot of things I said in that speech that I had been thinking for a long time. The fact that [business] models are changing, companies that have made gazillions of dollars providing portholes for content, that if they were going to compete, were going to end up making original content. One of the reasons it went viral is because nobody in my position had said it in such a public way before.

史派西：我在那次演講裏面說到的很多東西，之前都思考過很長時間。我說到商業模式正在變化，說到有些公司提供內容通道賺了不少錢，如果它們要跟別人競爭，終究會製作原創內容。它走紅的原因之一，是因爲之前沒有誰在我那樣的位置上如此公開地將這些表達出來。

WSJ: Do you know how many of Netflix's subscribers watch 'House of Cards'?

《華爾街日報》：你是否知道Netflix訂戶當中有多少人在看《紙牌屋》？

A: Even if I knew I couldn't tell you anything more than Netflix is willing to tell. All the conversations that occurred after we announced our deal, people were saying, 'They'll never make their money back! Crazy!' In actual fact, all that Netflix had to do to break even on that deal was to get 565,000 more members. So the fact that they now have brought in more members than HBO and a significant amount of new members this year, I would say it's been very cost effective.

史派西：即使我知道，Netflix不願意說的我也不會告訴你。我們公佈交易之後，大家都在說：“他們怎麼也回不了本！瘋了！”事實上Netflix只需要增加56.5萬名會員，交易就回了本。所以，鑑於他們現在的會員數量超過HBO，且今年增加了不少的新會員，我認爲這筆買賣還是非常划算的。

WSJ: Your priorities seem to have changed in your career as you attained a certain level of success. When did that happen?

《華爾街日報》：在取得一定程度的成功之後，你職業生涯中的重點似乎也變了。是在什麼時候變的？

A: I think that it was right around the time I went back to London in 1998 to do 'The Iceman Cometh.' I came back to America after that and shot 'American Beauty' [for which he won his second Oscar]. I was kind of feeling like the 12-year plan of 'put on the blinders and try to build a film career' had gone better than I could have ever possibly hoped. And there was something happening to me inside. I didn't want to spend 10 years pursuing the same dream so doggedly with my own ambition about myself. I didn't want to be one of those guys on the 'Top 10' lists.

史派西：我想大概是在1998年回倫敦出演《冰人未了》(The Iceman Cometh)的時候。在那之後我回到美國拍攝《美國麗人》（American Beauty，他藉此獲得第二個奧斯卡獎）。我感覺“一門心思在電影行業做出一番事業”的12年計劃完全比我預料的順利。我內心的想法也有了一些變化。我有自己的抱負，不想10年時間都在頑固地追逐同樣的夢想。我不想成爲各種“10大排行榜”上的人之一。

WSJ: That's when the Old Vic job came up?

《華爾街日報》：於是就有了老維克的那個職務？

A: When the Old Vic sort of happened, I had dreamed my whole life about running a theater. I had no idea how to do it, and literally started from scratch in a dressing room with me and a producer and a phone in 2003. Everything I could have hoped it could have been in terms of refocusing me, putting some distance between a career -- the silliness and stuff on the outside -- I was glad to take a moment and make a left turn and put some perspective on my life and career.

史派西：到老維克工作之前，我一輩子的夢想都是運營一家劇院。我不知道怎麼做，2003年在一間化妝室開始做的時候，只有我、一名製作人和一部電話，確實是白手起家。我所希望的，可能只是找準自己的方向，在事業與外界的愚蠢等東西之間形成一定的距離──我樂於抽個空拐個彎，換個角度審視自己的人生和職業道路。

WSJ: Do you plan on making more movies when you leave the Old Vic?

《華爾街日報》：你是否打算在離開老維克之後拍更多的影片呢？

A: Lord knows, 'House of Cards,' if it continues, requires a tremendous amount of my focus and time. I want to do more films. I want to direct more. I want to do more music. [He sang all his own songs in the 2004 movie 'Beyond the Sea.'] There are a lot of things I'll have time to do that I just simply haven't had time to do.

史派西：天曉得。如果繼續拍《紙牌屋》的話，我得花費大量的精力和時間。我想做更多的電影，我想導演更多的電影。我想做更多的音樂。（2004年電影《飛躍海洋》(Beyond the Sea)裏他所飾演角色的歌全都是他自己唱的。）我會有時間去做之前根本沒有時間去做的很多事情。

WSJ: President Obama recently said he likes 'House of Cards,' but that it portrays a Washington that is far more efficient than it is in reality. Would you agree with that?

《華爾街日報》：奧巴馬總統最近說他喜歡《紙牌屋》，但《紙牌屋》裏的華盛頓遠比現實中的更有效率。你是這樣認爲嗎？

A: I think that as time goes on, people and historians have an opportunity to look back on political figures in this country, who, maybe during their ascendancy or during their years in power were perceived as ruthless sons of bitches. Yet, you can look at some of those figures now and realize yeah, that's all true, but they got a lot done. I do think there's something very interesting about an American public viewing a fictional Congress that is very effective at a time when we have a Congress that is not effective.

史派西：我認爲隨着時間的推移，人們和歷史學家將有機會回顧這個國家的政治人物。這些人在事業上升期或掌權期或許被視爲無情的雜種。你現在可以看看其中的某些人，會發現這種看法一點沒錯，但他們做了很多實事。我倒是覺得，在國會效率低下的時候美國公衆觀看的是一個派系林立卻又非常有效的國會，這事非常有意思。

WSJ: Do you have any political ambitions yourself?

《華爾街日報》：你自己有沒有什麼政治上的抱負？

A: No, and I'll tell you why. When I look back at my own life and my own experiences it's quite clear I like to get s--- done. Part of my job at the Old Vic is that I am like a facilitator. I bring people together, and choose the right elements to tell a story. I think I would hate being in politics because I would be so frustrated by the fact that you just can't do it. Instead of saying 'This is a good idea' and 'Let's make this work' there's obstructionism.

史派西：沒有。我來跟你說說爲什麼。回顧自己的人生、自己的經歷的時候，相當明顯，我喜歡幹實事。我在老維克的一部分工作便是扮演促進者的角色。我把人湊齊，選擇合適的元素來講一個故事。我想我會討厭涉身政治，因爲辦不了事情會讓我非常沮喪。在政壇，人們不會說“這辦法不錯”、“就這麼辦吧”，而是去刻意阻撓。

WSJ: You're originally from New Jersey -- what do you think of this Chris Christie bridge-gate situation? The story sounds like it could have been in an episode of 'House of Cards.'

《華爾街日報》：你出生在新澤西，對州長克里斯・克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)的“堵橋門”怎麼看？這個故事聽起來好像可以出現在《紙牌屋》的某一集裏面。

A: I will say that there were many times during Season 1 and many times during Season 2 where I'd be watching what would happen in politics and this and that and I'd think to myself 'our story lines really are not that crazy.'

史派西：這麼說吧，在拍攝第一季的很多時候，在拍攝第二季的很多時候，我都會注意政壇將會發生什麼，然後我心裏面會想：“我們的故事情節還真沒那麼離奇。”

WSJ: Is it true that you sent Woody Allen, perhaps the least technologically savvy person in the world, a Netflix subscription?

《華爾街日報》：你是不是給伍迪・艾倫(Woody Allen)訂購了Netflix服務？他恐怕是世界上最不懂技術的人了。

A: I admire Woody Allen so much. I was at a point where every time he announces a new movie, I never get an audition and nobody ever calls me to come in. I was like, 'You know what? I am going to just write Woody Allen.' So, I introduced myself and sent him a Netflix subscription and said 'I don't know if you've seen my work, but you might want to watch this series.' He wrote me back a warm and wonderful letter, and thanked me for the Netflix. He said he'd seen me play lots of different roles and said he absolutely would consider me in a film.

史派西：我非常敬佩伍迪・艾倫。那個時候，每次他公佈新片拍攝計劃，我一個試鏡的機會都沒有，甚至都沒有人打電話叫我去。我心想：“看着吧，我會給伍迪・艾倫去信的。”於是我做了自我介紹，給他訂購了Netflix服務，並表示“我不知道你有沒有看過我的作品，但還是看看這部連續劇吧”。他給我回了一封熱情洋溢的信，感謝我給他訂購Netflix服務。他說之前看過我扮演的很多不同角色，並表示肯定會考慮我參演某部片子。

WSJ: What kind of role would you want to play in one of his movies?

《華爾街日報》：你希望在他的影片中扮演什麼角色？

A: I would be delighted and honored to do anything he might come up with. I am not the kind of actor who covets parts. What I like is when a director says to me, 'I want to see you do this role.' I would never have come up with doing 'Richard II.' But Trevor Nunn wanted to see me play that role. The thing that put it over the top for me was that he had never directed a production of that play. So I thought, 'How incredible that we can both have our first experience doing 'Richard II' together, as opposed to me being his seventh Richard II.' So that's why I did that play. It was an incredible experience. I had to convincingly play an English king. It's much more interesting when things don't come easy.

史派西：不管他給什麼，我都會感到高興、感到光榮。我不是那種特別想扮演某些角色的演員。我喜歡的是導演對我說，“我想讓你演這個角色”。我本來是不會出演《理查二世》(Richard II)的，但特雷弗・納恩(Trevor Nunn)想讓我扮演一個角色。我唯一想到的是，他從來沒有導過那部戲。所以我想，“如果我們兩個人都通過一起做《理查二世》來獲得第一次經驗，而不是讓我飾演他第七次執導的《理查二世》，那將是多麼地不可思議。”這就是我演那部劇的原因。那是一段不可思議的經歷。我必須讓人信服地扮演一位英格蘭國王。事情不容易做的時候，要有意思得多。