Who Played Whom in Netflix’s Political Drama?
Matches Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Michael Kelly with Francis “Frank” Underwood, Claire Underwood and Doug Stamper.
House of Cards cast at a glance
The cast of House of Cards is anchored by Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, and Michael Kelly:
| Actor | Character | Quick identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Spacey | Francis “Frank” Underwood | Politician at the center of the drama |
| Robin Wright | Claire Underwood | Frank’s wife and political partner |
| Michael Kelly | Doug Stamper | Political operative closely associated with the Underwoods |
Francis Underwood and Frank Underwood are the same character. “Frank” is the familiar form of Francis, so cast directories using one name or the other are not describing separate roles.
This guide covers the American Netflix political drama, not the earlier British adaptation. Created by Beau Willimon, the American series ran for six seasons from 2013 to 2018, according to TV Guide’s series listing. The supplied references disagree about the precise total number of episodes, so no definitive series total is given here.
Beyond its three central performers, the ensemble includes presidents, lawmakers, candidates, officials, political advisers, White House staff, journalists, security personnel, business figures, and characters introduced during the later part of the series.
This is a reader-focused directory of notable principal and recurring performers. It does not attempt to reproduce every guest, background, functional, or minor role found in a full credits database. Database display order also should not be interpreted as a ranking of narrative importance.
The three actors at the center of the series
Kevin Spacey as Francis “Frank” Underwood
Kevin Spacey plays Francis “Frank” Underwood, the politician around whom the series’ initial struggle for power is organized. Some cast databases use Francis, while others shorten the name to Frank. Both identify the same character.
Spacey’s credited participation ends before the final season. The resulting cast transition is addressed below without extending the discussion beyond the context needed to explain Frank Underwood’s absence.
Robin Wright as Claire Underwood
Robin Wright plays Claire Underwood, who occupies the center of the political drama alongside Frank and becomes the central figure in the final season.
Claire is not simply a peripheral character in Frank’s story. She is one of the series’ defining figures, and Wright remained part of the cast after Spacey’s departure.
Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper
Michael Kelly plays Doug Stamper, a close political operative associated with the Underwoods. The role connects political strategy and staff work with the personal demands surrounding the central couple.
Doug is one of the principal recurring figures across the series and the third member of its best-known central cast grouping.
IMDb’s episode totals for the central cast
IMDb lists Robin Wright as Claire Underwood in 73 episodes from 2013 to 2018, Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper in 72 episodes from 2013 to 2018, and Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in 65 episodes from 2013 to 2017. These are database-attributed series totals, not official measures of screen time, billing, or narrative importance. IMDb provides the figures in its full cast and crew credits.
The differences among those totals partly reflect the final-season cast change. They should not be used to rank the characters or determine how much dramatic weight each performer carried.
Presidents, politicians, and political rivals
Political figures account for a large part of the House of Cards ensemble. Some characters hold office, some pursue it, and others exercise influence from outside elected government. Placement in this section does not mean that every performer appears in every season.
The actor-character pairings below are supported across broad cast references, including the Rotten Tomatoes cast-and-crew directory.
| Actor | Character | Recognition guide |
|---|---|---|
| Michel Gill | President Garrett Walker | President and political figure |
| Corey Stoll | Peter Russo | Congressman |
| Jayne Atkinson | Catherine Durant | Senior political official |
| Molly Parker | Jacqueline “Jackie” Sharp | Lawmaker and political figure |
| Elizabeth Marvel | Heather Dunbar | Political rival |
| Reed Birney | Donald Blythe | Lawmaker and official |
| Dan Ziskie | Jim Matthews | Political officeholder |
| Sakina Jaffrey | Linda Vasquez | Political official |
| Lars Mikkelsen | Viktor Petrov | Foreign president |
| Joel Kinnaman | Will Conway | Candidate and political rival |
| Dominique McElligott | Hannah Conway | Figure associated with Will Conway |
| Gerald McRaney | Raymond Tusk | Business power broker |
Michel Gill as President Garrett Walker
Michel Gill plays President Garrett Walker, a political figure closely connected with the opening part of the series.
The actor’s first name appears as “Michael” in one broad cast directory, but IMDb, TV Guide, TV Insider, and other supplied references use Michel Gill. That is the spelling adopted throughout this guide.
Corey Stoll as Peter Russo
Corey Stoll plays Peter Russo, a congressman associated with the earlier political storyline. He is distinct from the candidates, presidents, and White House officials elsewhere in the ensemble.
Jayne Atkinson as Catherine Durant
The supported spelling is Catherine Durant. The variant “Catherine Durrant” appears in a weaker retrospective source but is not used by the stronger cast directories in the supplied evidence.
Molly Parker as Jacqueline “Jackie” Sharp
Molly Parker plays Jacqueline “Jackie” Sharp. Some cast pages use Jacqueline, while others list Jackie. Combining the formal name and nickname makes clear that both versions refer to one character.
Elizabeth Marvel as Heather Dunbar
Reed Birney as Donald Blythe
His appearance in broad and season-specific directories should not be interpreted as evidence of continuous participation throughout the series.
Dan Ziskie as Jim Matthews
Dan Ziskie plays Jim Matthews, a political officeholder. The broader label is useful for a spoiler-light cast guide without tying the character to one office or point in the story.
Sakina Jaffrey as Linda Vasquez
Lars Mikkelsen as Viktor Petrov
Lars Mikkelsen plays Viktor Petrov, a foreign president. The role extends the ensemble beyond domestic lawmakers, candidates, and White House personnel.
Joel Kinnaman and Dominique McElligott as Will and Hannah Conway
Their shared surname and connected placement in cast directories make them convenient to identify together, but each performer has an individual cast credit.
Gerald McRaney as Raymond Tusk
Although he is not identified primarily as a politician, his role fits naturally among the series’ political rivals and influential figures.
White House staff, advisers, and security figures
The Underwoods’ world includes strategists, communications staff, advisers, security personnel, and technically skilled operatives. Their responsibilities do not fit into perfectly separate categories, so the labels below are intended as recognition aids rather than rigid job classifications.
| Actor | Character | Recognition guide |
|---|---|---|
| Derek Cecil | Seth Grayson | Political staff and communications figure |
| Nathan Darrow | Edward Meechum | Security figure |
| Mahershala Ali | Remy Danton | Political operative and adviser |
| Paul Sparks | Thomas Yates | Writer within the political circle |
| Neve Campbell | Leann Harvey | Political adviser |
| Campbell Scott | Mark Usher | Political strategist and adviser |
| Patricia Clarkson | Jane Davis | Adviser and political-world figure |
| Jimmi Simpson | Gavin Orsay | Technical operative |
| Justin Doescher | Multiple security descriptions | Functional database credits |
The principal staff and adviser roles
Derek Cecil plays Seth Grayson, a staff and communications figure.
“Danton” is the supported surname; the spelling “Denton” appears in a weaker retrospective source and is not used here.
His placement in this section reflects that association rather than an attempt to define him solely by one profession.
Her first name also appears as “LeAnn” in a season-specific database, but Leann Harvey is the form used by several broader cast directories.
Patricia Clarkson plays Jane Davis, another adviser and political-world figure. Jane Davis is a different character from Catherine Durant, who is played by Jayne Atkinson.
IMDb’s supporting-cast totals
IMDb lists Derek Cecil in 50 episodes, Nathan Darrow in 35, Mahershala Ali in 33, Paul Sparks in 28, and Neve Campbell in 25. These are IMDb’s series-level database totals and should not be combined directly with figures taken from a page covering only one season. The totals appear in IMDb’s series credits.
Episode totals indicate the scope of a database credit, not a character’s screen time or importance. A performer credited in fewer episodes may still have a major role within a particular storyline.
A note on Justin Doescher’s security credits
Cast databases associate Justin Doescher with functional descriptions including “Frank Underwood Security” and “Frank’s Secret Service.” Those labels are best treated as database credit descriptions rather than automatically combined into one fully developed named character.
This distinction matters because a functional security credit is not equivalent to a recurring character such as Edward Meechum. TV Guide’s cast page illustrates how one performer may be listed under multiple security descriptions.
Journalists and characters tied to the media storyline
Journalists are an important part of the series’ political world. The most useful names for cast lookup include Zoe Barnes and Tom Hammerschmidt, but the wider grouping also includes reporters, editors, and characters whose stories intersect with media-related events.
| Actor | Character | Recognition guide |
|---|---|---|
| Kate Mara | Zoe Barnes | Political reporter |
| Boris McGiver | Tom Hammerschmidt | Journalist and editor |
| Constance Zimmer | Janine Skorsky | Journalist |
| Sebastian Arcelus | Lucas Goodwin | Journalist |
| Kim Dickens | Kate Baldwin | Reporter |
| Rachel Brosnahan | Rachel Posner | Character connected to the broader storyline |
Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes
Kate Mara plays Zoe Barnes, a political reporter whose role connects the press with the Underwoods’ political world.
A season-specific database includes an anomalous credit entry for Mara. Because the supplied evidence does not explain that entry, it is not repeated here as a straightforward appearance total.
Boris McGiver as Tom Hammerschmidt
His character belongs to the same broad media grouping as Zoe Barnes, Janine Skorsky, Lucas Goodwin, and Kate Baldwin.
Constance Zimmer as Janine Skorsky
Sebastian Arcelus as Lucas Goodwin
Kim Dickens as Kate Baldwin
Her presence belongs to one part of the wider media storyline rather than every phase of it.
Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Posner
Rachel Brosnahan plays Rachel Posner.
That distinction illustrates how this guide’s categories work: they are designed to help readers find characters, but they do not redefine the characters’ actual roles.
Later-season additions and the Shepherd family
Later cast rosters include several prominent performer-character pairings not associated with the show’s original central configuration. The clearest cluster is the shared Shepherd surname: Diane Lane as Annette Shepherd, Greg Kinnear as Bill Shepherd, and Cody Fern as Duncan Shepherd.
| Actor | Character | Recognition guide |
|---|---|---|
| Diane Lane | Annette Shepherd | Shepherd character |
| Greg Kinnear | Bill Shepherd | Shepherd character |
| Cody Fern | Duncan Shepherd | Shepherd character |
| Patricia Clarkson | Jane Davis | Adviser represented in later cast rosters |
| Campbell Scott | Mark Usher | Strategist represented in later cast rosters |
These pairings appear together in TV Insider’s series cast-and-crew roster. The table is a recognition guide, not a precise debut chronology or a season-by-season account of billing.
Diane Lane, Greg Kinnear, and Cody Fern as the Shepherds
Diane Lane plays Annette Shepherd, Greg Kinnear plays Bill Shepherd, and Cody Fern plays Duncan Shepherd.
Their shared surname makes the three characters easy to group in a lookup guide. The cast listings support the names and pairings, but they are not used here to infer additional relationships, motivations, or plot outcomes.
Patricia Clarkson as Jane Davis
Patricia Clarkson plays Jane Davis. She appears here as a notable name represented in later-series cast rosters and also belongs in the adviser directory above.
Campbell Scott as Mark Usher
Campbell Scott plays Mark Usher, a strategist and adviser. Like Jane Davis, he is listed in more than one section because viewers may search for the character either by function or by association with the later ensemble.
This grouping should not be treated as proof that all five performers arrived together, appeared for the same length of time, or held equivalent billing.
Why Frank Underwood is absent from season six
Netflix ended its relationship with Kevin Spacey in 2017 following allegations of sexual misconduct, and the sixth season was produced without his involvement. The supplied overview of the American series documents the production change and Spacey’s departure.
Frank Underwood consequently does not appear as an active on-screen character in the final season. Claire Underwood becomes the season’s central figure, explaining the major shift in the show’s principal cast.
That context is sufficient for understanding the transition. A cast guide does not need to speculate about the allegations, make legal conclusions, or address later developments unrelated to identifying the performers and characters.
How to read cast credits and conflicting names
Cast databases are useful reference tools, but their lists are not perfectly interchangeable. IMDb, TV Guide, Rotten Tomatoes, TMDB, Wikipedia, and TV Insider are third-party sources with their own display systems. Their visible pages may be selective, season-specific, community-edited, truncated, or drawn from different kinds of credits.
For this guide, recurring name variations have been normalized as follows:
- Francis “Frank” Underwood combines the formal and familiar versions of the same character’s name.
- Jacqueline “Jackie” Sharp combines the formal name used by some directories with the nickname used by others.
- Leann Harvey is used consistently despite TMDB’s “LeAnn” styling.
- Remy Danton is used instead of the weaker retrospective spelling “Remy Denton.”
- Catherine Durant is used instead of “Catherine Durrant.”
- Michel Gill is used for the actor who plays Garrett Walker, rather than the less-supported variant “Michael Gill.”
Why episode counts do not always match
IMDb’s figures quoted in this article are series-wide database totals. TMDB’s season-four cast page, by contrast, is limited to one season. The two sets of figures cannot be substituted for one another without accounting for that difference in scope.
A database can also contain an entry that appears unusual to viewers. Without stronger production evidence, it would be inappropriate to assume that such an entry resulted from archive footage, a flashback, contractual billing, or a database error.
The supplied sources also conflict over the overall episode total. This guide therefore limits itself to the consistently supported description of the program’s run rather than selecting one disputed total.
Why a database may show hundreds of cast entries
A full cast database can include principal actors, recurring performers, one-episode guests, background performers, unnamed roles, and people credited under several functional descriptions. It may also include entries whose meaning is difficult to determine without episode-level production records.
For example, one performer might appear under several press-corps or security descriptions. That does not automatically make those entries a single named character. Nor does a large raw credit count establish narrative importance, screen time, or billing rank.
“How many entries are in a cast database?” and “Who are the notable members of the House of Cards cast?” are different questions. This article answers the second.
Alphabetical actor-to-character index
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Boris McGiver | Tom Hammerschmidt |
| Campbell Scott | Mark Usher |
| Cody Fern | Duncan Shepherd |
| Constance Zimmer | Janine Skorsky |
| Corey Stoll | Peter Russo |
| Dan Ziskie | Jim Matthews |
| Derek Cecil | Seth Grayson |
| Diane Lane | Annette Shepherd |
| Dominique McElligott | Hannah Conway |
| Elizabeth Marvel | Heather Dunbar |
| Gerald McRaney | Raymond Tusk |
| Greg Kinnear | Bill Shepherd |
| Jayne Atkinson | Catherine Durant |
| Jimmi Simpson | Gavin Orsay |
| Kate Mara | Zoe Barnes |
| Kevin Spacey | Francis “Frank” Underwood |
| Kim Dickens | Kate Baldwin |
| Lars Mikkelsen | Viktor Petrov |
| Mahershala Ali | Remy Danton |
| Michael Kelly | Doug Stamper |
| Michel Gill | President Garrett Walker |
| Molly Parker | Jacqueline “Jackie” Sharp |
| Nathan Darrow | Edward Meechum |
| Neve Campbell | Leann Harvey |
| Patricia Clarkson | Jane Davis |
| Paul Sparks | Thomas Yates |
| Rachel Brosnahan | Rachel Posner |
| Reed Birney | Donald Blythe |
| Robin Wright | Claire Underwood |
| Sakina Jaffrey | Linda Vasquez |
| Sebastian Arcelus | Lucas Goodwin |
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Frank Underwood in House of Cards?
Kevin Spacey plays Francis “Frank” Underwood. Francis and Frank are two forms of the same character’s name, not separate characters.
Who plays Claire Underwood?
Robin Wright plays Claire Underwood. Claire shares the center of the drama with Frank during the earlier part of the series and becomes the central figure in the final season.
Who plays Doug Stamper?
Michael Kelly plays Doug Stamper, the political operative closely associated with the Underwoods.
Who plays Zoe Barnes and Peter Russo?
Kate Mara plays Zoe Barnes, a political reporter. Corey Stoll plays Peter Russo, a congressman.
Who plays Annette, Bill, and Duncan Shepherd?
Diane Lane plays Annette Shepherd, Greg Kinnear plays Bill Shepherd, and Cody Fern plays Duncan Shepherd.
Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, and Michael Kelly form the best-known central trio, but the cast of House of Cards extends well beyond them. Its notable ensemble ranges from presidents, lawmakers, candidates, and business power brokers to staff members, advisers, journalists, security figures, and the Shepherd characters.
By normalizing conflicting name forms and distinguishing series-level database totals from season-specific credits, this guide provides a practical directory of notable performers in the American Netflix adaptation without presenting a selective list as an exhaustive official cast record.