Kevin Spacey plays yet another president in ‘Elvis & Nixon’

Kevin Spacey, who plays sociopath President Frank Underwood on Netflix’s House of Cards, takes on the role of a real-life President this time around.

Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, Spacey plays the 37th president of the United States, Richard Nixon. The new film, entitled Elvis & Nixon, is based on the supposed meeting between Nixon and Presley which took place on Dec. 21, 1970.

With reviews ranging from funny to weird, overall critics agree it was an interesting interpretation of what might happen during a meeting between the two. David Edeksteub of Vulture wrote, “In the opening crawl, Elvis & Nixon alerts us to the fact that no transcript exists of the title encounter, but if it didn’t happen the way it does here, it should have.”

In an interview with ABC News, Spacey said, “(Elvis) was concerned about the protests against the war, was concerned about the lack of respect, what he saw, against the law enforcement and the presidency. He felt very strongly, this is 1970, that he could help the country get steered back in the right direction.”

Spacey continued, “He wanted Richard Nixon to make him an undercover federal agent at large. Now I know that sounds completely crazy. We play it quite seriously but it is just this side of Dr. Strange love. It is a very, very odd situation.”

Michael Shannon takes on the role of Elvis Presley, only adding to the already talented cast of the movie. With prestigious awards for Spacey’s roles in American Beauty, The Usual Suspects and House of Cards, some say that playing Nixon was suitable only for him and his unique acting abilities.