A year ago, after Netflix fired the "House of Cards" top billed star Kevin Spacey amid allegations of sexual misconduct, the fate of the series - and the employment of its cast and crew hung in the balance. "It didn't look like it was going to [go forward]," actor Michael Kelly, who has been nominated for three Emmy Awards for playing Doug Stamper on the show, shared on "Salon Talks."

But in real life and in the "House of Cards" world, a woman stepped up. "We had the hiatus when the news broke, and one of the first calls I made was to Robin [Wright]. I said, 'We can't not do this,' and she said, 'We have to.' She sounded more like Doug Stamper at that moment than I did. With Robin driving the train, everyone agreed it was the right thing to do to continue. It very quickly became how. And that was on the writers," Kelly told SalonTV's Mary Elizabeth Williams.

It was not an easy turnaround - as Kelly notes, "They'd already had all 13 episodes storyboarded. I was done with my first two episodes." But then, "Robin was the leader. She stepped up and brought us all together and made it happen."

As far as his character Doug goes, following the death of Frank Underwood, Kelly says that Doug is now a man he describes as lost. "For the first time you see this character who's always had a gravitational pull that drove him with his job and the man he served," he says, "and now they're both gone. You see him trying to figure out what the next move is and where he fits in this new world."

But with "House of Cards" wrapped, a new movie called "All Square," and an upcoming arc on the second season of Amazon's "Jack Ryan," Kelly is anything but adrift. His next move? "I want to stay involved politically and may run for office someday." Although, Kelly adds. "I don't want to be president." Watch the interview above to hear what political issues Kelly is passionate about.


This SalonTV interview is hosted by Mary Elizabeth Williams


Photography by Jill Greenberg. Watch Jill's TedxTalk on the Female Lens and the problem with only seeing the world from a man's perspective. And find out more about Jill's initiative Alreadymade., a mission to hire more female photographers and content creators.