House of Cards’ Robin Wright explains why she had to play her controlling character in new thriller The Girlfriend

Her co-star Kevin Spacey had been fired following allegations of sexual assault (of which he was later cleared) and both fans and critics openly wondered how the hugely successful Netflix show could continue without its Oscar-winning star. In hindsight, such doubts seem absurd. After all, this is the actress who had played Buttercup in the cult hit, The Princess Bride in her early 20s and within ten years had become a global star thanks to her role as Jenny in Forrest Gump.

Wright, and her House of Cards character Claire Underwood, blew all expectations out of the water. Underwood’s Machiavellian former lobbyist finally became president and appointed an all-female cabinet – and Wright, who had fought long and hard for equal pay with Spacey, basked in glowing reviews. Yet, journalists kept focusing on Spacey – she told NBC news in 2018 that “we were all surprised, of course, and ultimately saddened” – while fans stopped her in the street to ask how she could “play someone as venal as Claire Underwood”.

What they really wanted to know, of course, was if she was like Underwood in real life. To which she emphatically replies, “Not in any shape or form! Apart from the Altuzarra dresses and Louboutin shoes. My job is to portray characters that have nothing to do with me. Acting is a switch that you turn on and off.”

We are talking over video call, Wright sitting in a room with wooden beams and tasteful furniture somewhere in the English countryside. She’s “taking a little breather after three years grinding away” at her new Amazon Prime Video series, The Girlfriend. She doesn’t mean to sound jaded – it’s just that TV takes so long to get made, and then there’s the agonising wait to see if it hits the zeitgeist.

The Girlfriend, based on a novel of the same name by Michelle Francis, is about Laura (Wright), a glamorous and wealthy woman whose life is upended when her handsome son Daniel (Laurie Davidson) brings home his new girlfriend Cherry (Olivia Cook). There is immediate tension. Beautifully shot in London and Spain, a dual perspective format asks us to decide whether Cherry is a scheming working-class opportunist or if Laura is a paranoid control freak and snob.

Wright explains that Andy Serkis’s Imaginarium Productions, who bought the rights to the book, reached out to her at the end of the pandemic, asking if she’d like to direct the pilot and “set the tone of the show”. Having already directed ten episodes of House of Cards, two of Ozark and the 2021 feature film, Land, Wright could see the potential.

“I loved how female-driven the narrative is, and I could absolutely see how juicy the show could be,” says Wright. “We were initially looking at other actresses to play Laura, but schedules didn’t work out and I ended up taking the part myself. The role resonated for me in so many ways, not least because I have a son [32-year-old actor Hopper Penn, with former husband Sean Penn] and I can understand why Laura feels so protective towards her child.”

I don’t ask about Hopper or his 34-year-old sister Dylan Penn, also an actor, because I’ve been told any personal questions are off the table, which is no surprise, since Wright’s fractious 14-year marriage to Penn was the stuff of tabloid dreams (she is currently happily single). Still, she laughs as she remembers Hopper calling her the previous day. “He’d just seen the trailer for The Girlfriend and couldn’t wait to watch the series.

I asked him to reassure me that I’m not like Laura! He giggled and said, ‘Well, you’re a mom…’ And of course, no girl is ever going to be good enough for him, in my view. It’s just inherent in us mommies.”

Despite Wright’s American background, The Girlfriend explores the very British issue of class, which she reports was discussed constantly on set. “Class in the UK is certainly more delineated than in the States. Cherry is desperate to experience the kind of privileged life Daniel can offer, whatever the consequences.”

Filming in London meant showing that divide through luxury locations. “We shot in a stunning six-storey house in St John’s Wood with a pool in the basement,” Wright recalls. “And the location manager got us access to an art gallery in central London… it’s such a great city.”

At 59, and after four decades “in this business”, Wright can pretty much pick and choose the projects she takes on, but it hasn’t always been an easy journey. “I decided to be selective about the roles I took in my 20s, which was hard because sometimes you have to take what you’re offered to stay in the game. When the kids were babies, I just took them with me; I breastfed my son on Forrest Gump because he was only six months old.

“But during my kids’ formative years, I put them first and only worked once a year. I’d try to work in the summer holidays so Hopper and Dylan could come on set with me. God, they hated it; I was taking them away from their sleepovers and their soccer games. It was boring for them: ‘Mom’s on set all day working, and we’re in the trailer waiting for her 30-minute lunch, and she’s exhausted and wants to sleep.’”

Talking of Forrest Gump, I wonder if Wright is still in touch with her co-star Tom Hanks? “Well, my friends are the people I met in my late teens, not celebrities. I don’t mingle apart from at awards ceremonies. Tom lives down the street from me and although we never see each other socially, I loved working with him on [the Robert Zemeckis film] Here a few years ago. I asked him why he was still working, since he hardly needs the money. He said, ‘But wow, I love the chat!’ He tells stories on set all day long. He’s hysterically funny – he has the whole set in stitches. He’s a good egg.”

It’s tempting to ask if Wright herself still needs to work, but she’s clearly having so much fun in The Girlfriend that such a question might be redundant. Instead, I ask about the unexpected skills actors pick up – “I’m terrified of horses, but when I played Antiope in Wonder Woman, I had to learn to gallop at 100 miles an hour on sand while firing arrows” – and the ongoing impact of #MeToo on her industry. “It’s certainly changed for the better. There are finally rules and regulations and everyone has to follow a code. Companies come on set and tell the cast and crew what constitutes bad behaviour. It’s about simple respect and being a decent human being.”

She has the same attitude to equal pay. “Women are still fighting for the same pay as their male peers. It’s a fact. It’s tradition. We have to teach the young boys who are becoming young men that women are equal to them. If you’re doing the same job as a man, you should get paid the same amount. It’s a no-brainer.”

Of course, issues of femininity and masculinity are a hot topic. I mention the exploration of young men in Adolescence and Wright’s face lights up. “I love Stephen Graham! That show was fantastic – it really showed the power of drama.” Will she do more TV? “There’s so much great TV. I binge certain shows, like Mum with Lesley Manville. She is a favourite. As is Peter Mullan, who was brilliant in After the Party. But you asked about my plans. I’m taking a breather for now. And doing press for The Girlfriend, which I hope people like.”

I’m pretty sure they will. “Oh good. Can you put a word out and make that happen?” Job done, I say.

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