18 Facts About Francis Urquhart

Francis Ewan Urquhart is a fictional character who is the villainous antihero protagonist of the British political thriller television serial House of Cards and its sequel serials, To Play the King and The Final Cut.

Francis Urquhart served in the British Army in Cyprus for three years.

Francis Urquhart served in several ministerial positions before becoming Chief Whip in 1987.

Francis Urquhart has been described as conniving, Machiavellian, sociopathic, and a symbol of political corruption.

Francis Urquhart is depicted as being willing to go to any lengths, even personally committing murder, to see that his intricate schemes pay off.

Francis Urquhart's character was adapted by Beau Willimon and Dobbs into the character Frank Underwood, portrayed by Kevin Spacey, the villainous protagonist of the American adaptation of House of Cards.

Michael Dobbs stated that the inspiration behind Francis 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".

Richardson received positive reviews for his portrayal of Francis Urquhart, and won a BAFTA award for his performance.

The novels provide him with a backstory: Francis Urquhart was born in 1936, the youngest of the Earl of Bruichladdich's three sons.

Francis Urquhart was educated at Fettes where, although not noted for brilliance, he was recognised for his diligence and industriousness.

Francis Urquhart 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.

Francis 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.

Francis Urquhart later taught Renaissance Italian History at the university, becoming an authority on the Medici and Machiavelli.

Francis Urquhart married Elizabeth McCullough, the eldest daughter of a whisky magnate named William McCullough, in 1960.

Francis Urquhart is right-wing and his policies include abolishing the Arts Council, outlawing vagrancy, reintroducing conscription and banning pensioners from National Health Service treatment unless they have paid for Age Insurance.

Whereas Francis Urquhart is an aristocrat by birth, Underwood is a self-made man, having been born into a poor Southern family with an alcoholic father.

Francis 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.

Unlike the right wing Francis 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.