Recently at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, "House of Cards" star Michael Kelly was approached by "Luke Cage" star Mike Colter, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb and two others to tell him how much they appreciated his work on the series. The actor's portrayal of Doug Stamper has been deemed so stellar that he couldn't be any more deserving of an Emmy nomination.

In a recent interview with CNN, the actor talked about his role in the series and why after all this time, he still has a soft spot for Doug.

Asked if he often gets compliments for his role in "House of Cards," the actor said, "Yeah. You know, I feel so blessed to have landed this job and to be able to play him for as long as I have. They haven't killed him. I feel so fortunate to have respect and admiration from my peers. So to meet all these great actors, it's incredible."

The actor also shared that when he begins a season, he psyches himself up to get into Doug's mind again by driving in silence and listening to his lines.

"The drive to Baltimore that I do every time we start a new season, that's my time to sort of slide back into Doug," he said.

Kelly revealed that the most daunting part of the last season was when Doug put the glass over Seth Grayson's mouth and tried to suffocate him.

"Derek Cecil and I didn't see eye to eye on that scene going into it. For days leading up to it, we were talking about it and hashing it out with the writer, Beau Willimon. It was the physicality of that--for the character to go from zero to 60 in one second--it was hard," he told CNN.

The actor also revealed that he is still rooting for Doug up to this point.

"I completely understand everything he's done. I'm not saying that I would do it, but I completely understand Doug Stamper. I understand his addiction issues."

Asked about what almost losing Frank last year did to him, he said, "A lot. Francis is a massive part of his life in so many ways... And they trust each other to the ends of the Earth so that's where Doug belongs. That's where he is. That's where he thrives in life."

Kelly said it's great going with the new showrunners, though he will always miss Beau Willimon.

"Frank and Melissa are incredible. I love them, and I love that they love it like Beau love it," he said.