Spacey dashes after McCarthy at charity gala
SPOTTED: Kevin Spacey, who plays a fictional Democratic House majority whip-turned-commander in chief on “House of Cards,” hustling from the stage to the last row of a theater to give real-life Majority Leader and possibly next Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) a warm embrace.
The Academy Award-winner appeared at Washington’s Arena Stage on Monday for a charity gala benefitting his Kevin Spacey Foundation and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. After an onstage chat among Spacey, baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. and CNN’s Dana Bash wrapped up, ITK observed the actor’s face light up when he eyed McCarthy in the audience.
{mosads}Spacey and McCarthy have a history together — the entertainer shadowed the then-House majority whip, along with House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who was also at Monday’s event, while researching the role of Frank Underwood for the Netflix political thriller.
Spacey bolted through rows of stairs within the theater-in-the-round to make his way to McCarthy. The pair was seen laughing and smiling as they engaged in a lengthy convo before being joined by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was also spotted giving Spacey a pat on the back and a quick greeting while passing him in the theater.
McCarthy on Monday announced his intention to run for House Speaker when John Boehner (R-Ohio) retires next month.
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