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Francis Ewan Urquhart is a fictional character created by Michael Dobbs. Known by his initials FU, Urquhart is the main character in Dobbs's ''House of Cards'' trilogy: ''House of Cards'' (1990), ''To Play the King'' (1992) and ''The Final Cut'' (1995). He was portrayed in the BBC TV adaptations by Ian Richardson, who won a BAFTA award for his performance.〔(House of Cards' Richardson dies ), ''BBC'', (Feb 9, 2007)〕 ''House of Cards'' follows Urquhart, a Conservative and the government chief whip, as he manoeuvres himself through blackmail and murder to the post of Prime Minister. ''To Play the King'' sees Prime Minister Urquhart clash with the newly crowned King of the United Kingdom over disagreements regarding social justice. By the time of ''The Final Cut'', Urquhart has been in power for eleven years, and refuses to relinquish his position until he has beaten Margaret Thatcher's record as longest serving post-war Prime Minister.〔 Thought to be based on Richard III and Macbeth, and described as the "epitome of elegant evil", Urquhart is characterised by his habitual breaking of the fourth wall, his quoting of Shakespeare, and 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.〔 ==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".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Some thoughts... )〕 Ian Richardson was offered the role of Urquhart for the BBC TV adaptation of ''House of Cards'' in 1990, which he immediately accepted, noting: Richardson based his portrayal of the character on a British consul acquaintance in Japan.〔James Rampton. (Exposed: the man who would be king: House of Cards is back and this time Francis Urquhart has turned really nasty. James Rampton met the actor Ian Richardson on set, while the former Chief Whip Tim Renton compares the role with reality. ) ''The Independent'' (2 March 1993)〕 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".〔 Nevertheless, despite finding him "an irritating bugger", Richardson found Urquhart "a joy to play".〔 Howard Rosenberg of the ''Los Angeles Times'' praised Urquhart as making "Richard Nixon look like a guileless wimp."〔Howard Rosenberg, (PBS Serves Up a Pair of Gems : Television: British TV has long excelled at political intrigue. 'Die Kinder' and 'House of Cards' continue the tradition--and share the cynicism ), ''Los Angeles Times'' (28 March 1993)〕 Urquhart's motto – "You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment" – has entered the national lexicon, and has been quoted in the House of Commons.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Francis Urquhart」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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