Julia Louis-Dreyfus hits the red carpet for Veep's D.C. premiere

(CBS News) Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the rest of the cast of the new HBO series Veep took to the red carpet for a premiere at The United States Institute of Peace in Washington on Wednesday.

Louis-Dreyfus, best known for playing Elaine on "Seinfeld," plays Vice President Selina Meyer, who finds it difficult to transition from her Senate seat to the White House. The HBO show, which premieres April 22, combines both comedy and drama, the show capitalizes on political clashing.

"There obviously is a lot of built-in conflict that's inherent to politics," Louis-Dreyfus told CBS News. "But beyond that, I think that the idea of having a very ambitious person in a powerful position, but who is also powerless at the same time is an inherently funny idea."

In order to prepare for the role, Louis-Dreyfus said she consulted former vice presidents for advice -- but she insists her character is not patterned after any political figure.

"No, I'm really truly not trying to parody any one person," she said. "In fact, that's a very clear goal and focus of mine in making this character."

Watch CBS News' entire red carpet interview with Louis-Dreyfus, including whether she has any political aspirations of her own, in the video above.