Francis Ewan Urquhart is a fictional character, the villainous protagonist of the 1990 British television series Michael Dobbs' House of Cards trilogy of novels. In the television series, he is portrayed by Ian Richardson, and is a member of the Conservative Party, Urquhart is known to be a ruthless politician who rises from Chief Whip of the Conservative Party to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom through much treachery, deception and murder. He is married to Elizabeth Urquhart, who often persuades him to use a given situation to his advantage.
Urquhart's family has roots in the Scottisharistocracy. He served in the British Army in Cyprus for three years. After resigning his commission, Urquhart studies at the University of Oxford. Turning to politics later, Urquhart joined the Conservative Party and became the MP for the constituency of New Forest in 1974.[citation needed] He served in several ministerial positions before becoming Chief Whip in 1987. Some of Urquhart's dialogue throughout the series is presented in a direct address to the audience, a narrative technique that breaks the fourth wall. These narrative asides are an invention of the television adaptation, as the book used third-person narration throughout.
Urquhart has been described as conniving, Machiavellian, sociopathic, and a symbol of political corruption. Throughout the series, he manipulates and destroys several people, including those he calls friends, for his own ends. He is depicted as being willing to go to any lengths, even murder, to see that his intricate schemes paid off. During the first series, he is the Chief Whip, before achieving his ambitious goal, becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the season finale. The follow-up series To Play the King (1993) and The Final Cut (1995) focus on Urquhart's premiership, as he refuses to relinquish his position until he has beaten Margaret Thatcher's record as longest serving post-war prime minister.[1]
Urquhart is characterised by his usage of the catchphrase, "You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment", or a variation thereon, as a plausibly deniable way of agreeing with people and/or leaking information. The catchphrase has been referenced in the House of Commons on many occasions, having entered the national political parlance.[2] Urquhart's character also inspired Frank Underwood, the villainous main protagonist of the American adaptation of House of Cards and portrayed by Kevin Spacey.
Development and reception
Michael Dobbs stated that the inspiration behind Urquhart came during a drinking session at a swimming pool after a tense encounter with Margaret Thatcher, deliberately creating a character moulded around the initials "FU".[3] Ian Richardson was offered the role of Urquhart for the BBC TV adaptation of House of Cards in 1990, which he immediately accepted, noting:
From the moment I read the first scripts, I felt that not only was it the biggest acting opportunity to come my way since my Shakespeare days, but probably was going to be something rather special on the box.[1]
Richardson based his portrayal of the character on a representative of the British Council whom he met whilst touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Japan.[4] While acknowledging that playing Urquhart brought him immediate public recognition, Richardson stated that as a Scottish Presbyterian, he found the character's "Machiavellian deviousness" and sex appeal "really rather revolting".[1] Nevertheless, despite finding him "an irritating bugger", Richardson found Urquhart "a joy to play".[5] Richardson received positive reviews for his portrayal of Urquhart, and won a BAFTA award for his performance.[6]
The character also took inspiration from contemporary Conservative politicians, including the fearsome Conservative Party whip Tristan Garel-Jones.[7]
The novels provide him with a backstory: Urquhart was born in 1936, the youngest of the Earl of Bruichladdich's three sons. His older brother, Alaister, was killed in the Second World War, while the middle brother, William, worked for the family estate and occasionally sat in the House of Lords.[9] The first novel reveals that his father committed suicide, and that his mother disowned him after he decided to go into politics rather than maintain the family estate.
Urquhart was educated at Fettes (although he often wears an Old Etonian tie in the BBC adaptation) where, although not noted for brilliance, he was recognised for his diligence and industriousness. He joined the British Army at age 18, and spent three years in Cyprus, where he was commended for bravery in his capture and interrogation of EOKA terrorists. Urquhart resigned his commission after a colleague was court-martialed for accidentally killing a suspect, and took up a deferred place at the University of Oxford reading History, where he narrowly missed getting a First. He later taught Renaissance Italian History at the university, becoming an authority on the Medici and Machiavelli. He married Elizabeth McCullough, eldest daughter of whisky magnate William McCullough, in 1960. By the time of House of Cards, Urquhart has long abandoned academia in favour of politics, having steadily risen to the position of Chief Whip.[9]
Urquhart's foreign policy is Anglocentric; he thinks that Britain has more to teach the world, and Europe in particular, than the other way around. He would like to see the rest of the European Union speaking English – a position that would then completely alienate Foreign SecretaryTom Makepeace. Besides this, his strong belief in discipline and the rule of law shapes his foreign policy in Cyprus, where he authorises the use of force against schoolgirls who are blocking military vehicles.[11]
Whereas Urquhart is an aristocrat by birth, Underwood is a self-made man, having been born into a poor Southern family with an alcoholic father. Urquhart was one of television's first antiheroes, whereas Underwood follows the more recent rash of antiheroes that includes Tony Soprano of The Sopranos, Walter White of Breaking Bad, and Dexter Morgan of Dexter. However, unlike most other antiheroes, Underwood is not forced into immorality either by circumstance (White), birth (Soprano) or upbringing (Morgan). In his review of Season 2, Slant Magazine's Alan Jones writes that Underwood is evil by choice.
Although Underwood is based on the BBC show's lead character, in interviews during the writing and filming of season 2, creator and showrunner Willimon said that he used Lyndon B. Johnson as a source of themes and issues addressed in House of Cards. Unlike the right wing Urquhart, who leads the Conservative Party, Underwood is a member of the Democratic Party, but cares little for ideology in favor of "ruthless pragmatism" in furthering his own political influence and power.
References
^ abcMail, Sharon (2009). We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered. Author Way Limited. ISBN1476442738
^[1]Published on 26 May 2016
Excerpt from a radio interview on ABC's Midday.
Presenter - Margaret Throsby
First broadcast in 2002.
This anecdote has been previously mis-reported in the Independent as the British Consul - a common mistake.
