One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Timing: 2:13 (133 min)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo
8.412/10
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo
8.508/10
384155
One Flew Over the Cuckoo
8.6/10
1200000

Actors and characters

Photo Jack Nicholson #43418Photo Jack Nicholson #43419Photo Jack Nicholson #43420Photo Jack Nicholson #43421

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson
Character Randle Patrick McMurphy
Photo Brad Dourif #22056Photo Brad Dourif #22057Photo Brad Dourif #22058Photo Brad Dourif #22059

Brad Dourif

Brad Dourif
Character Billy Bibbit
Photo Louise Fletcher #47883Photo Louise Fletcher #47884

Louise Fletcher

Louise Fletcher
Character Nurse Mildred Ratched
Photo Danny DeVito #4001Photo Danny DeVito #4002Photo Danny DeVito #4003Photo Danny DeVito #4004

Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito
Character Martini
Photo William Redfield #47885

William Redfield

William Redfield
Character Dale Harding
Photo Scatman Crothers #45887Photo Scatman Crothers #45888Photo Scatman Crothers #45889

Scatman Crothers

Scatman Crothers
Character Orderly Turkle
Photo Will Sampson #47886

Will Sampson

Will Sampson
Character Chief Bromden
Dean R. Brooks
Character Dr. John Spivey
Photo Sydney Lassick #47888

Sydney Lassick

Sydney Lassick
Character Charlie Cheswick
Photo William Duell #47889

William Duell

William Duell
Character Jim Sefelt
Photo Vincent Schiavelli #24021Photo Vincent Schiavelli #24022

Vincent Schiavelli

Vincent Schiavelli
Character Bruce Fredrickson
Photo Peter Brocco #47890Photo Peter Brocco #72792

Peter Brocco

Peter Brocco
Character Col. Matterson
Alonzo Brown
Character Miller
Mwako Cumbuka
Character Warren
Photo Josip Elic #47891

Josip Elic

Josip Elic
Character Bancini
Ken Kenny
Character Beans Garfield
Photo Nathan George #47892
Nathan George
Character Washington
Photo Ted Markland #47893Photo Ted Markland #47894

Ted Markland

Ted Markland
Character Hap Arlich
Photo Mews Small #47895
Mews Small
Character Candy
Photo Delos V. Smith Jr. #47896
Delos V. Smith Jr.
Character Scanlon
Lan Fendors
Character Nurse Itsu
Photo Mimi Sarkisian #47897

Mimi Sarkisian

Mimi Sarkisian
Character Nurse Pilbow
Mel Lambert
Character Harbor Master
Kay Lee
Character Night Supervisor
Photo Dwight Marfield #47898

Dwight Marfield

Dwight Marfield
Character Ellsworth
Tin Welch
Character Ruckley
Photo Philip Roth #47899

Philip Roth

Philip Roth
Character Woolsey
Photo Aurore Clément #43357Photo Aurore Clément #43358Photo Aurore Clément #43359Photo Aurore Clément #43360

Aurore Clément

Aurore Clément
Character Lady on Pier (uncredited)
Photo Anjelica Huston #24525Photo Anjelica Huston #24526Photo Anjelica Huston #24527Photo Anjelica Huston #24528

Anjelica Huston

Anjelica Huston
Character Woman in Crowd on Pier (uncredited)
Photo Audrey Landers #47900

Audrey Landers

Audrey Landers
Character Actress on TV Screen (uncredited)

Saul Zaentz

Saul Zaentz
Character Captain on Shore (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • The film is based on Ken Kesey's novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1962).
  • Ken Kesey wrote his book inspired by his work at a California state hospital for veterans.
  • Kirk Douglas held the rights to the film adaptation for a long time, but his son, no less famous Michael Douglas, ultimately took on the project. Nevertheless, Kirk retained the right to receive a percentage of the profits.
  • Among the contenders for the role of Randle Patrick McMurphy were such famous actors as James Caan, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Burt Reynolds. Ultimately, the role was offered to Jack Nicholson.
  • Kirk Douglas wanted to play one of the roles, but by the time the project was launched, he had aged too much.
  • The most difficult moment in the creation of the film was that no serious film studio wanted to take on such a dubious project. Kirk Douglas met Miloš Forman in Prague, where he told him about his plans and immediately offered him the position of director.
  • Ken Kesey, the author of the novel of the same name, wrote a screenplay for the film, but it did not appeal to Forman, as the narrative was told from the perspective of Bromden. After that, an offended Kesey stated that he would never watch the adaptation of his own novella 'in such a perverted form.' Moreover, he even sued the film's producers, but his claim was dismissed.
  • Many years later, Ken Kesey lay in his own bed, flipping through TV channels in search of something interesting to watch. Unexpectedly, he came across a rather curious film. Only a few minutes passed before he realized what the picture was, and immediately switched to another channel.
  • Most of the extras were actually mentally ill patients. Each member of the film crew was assigned 2-3 patients so that they could find something resembling mutual understanding with the patients.
  • Louise Fletcher received the role only a week before filming began. This event was preceded by about six months of continuous auditions. Miloš Forman couldn't decide to cast this actress in the project, but after viewing other candidates, he repeatedly invited Louise to auditions until he finally made a final decision.
  • Besides Louise Fletcher, Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn also competed for the role of Nurse Mildred Ratched.
  • Before starting the filming process, Miloš Forman gathered the entire film crew and showed them the film “Titicut Follies” (1967).
  • This film marked the big-screen debut of Brad Dourif (best known as the voice of the killer doll Chucky in the 1988 film *Child's Play*) and Christopher Lloyd (Dr. Brown from the 1985 film *Back to the Future*).
  • Milos Forman's film was the second in history to win all the major awards at the Academy Awards ceremony: 'Best Picture,' 'Best Director,' 'Best Adapted Screenplay,' 'Best Actor,' and 'Best Actress.'
  • Throughout the filming process, actor William Redfield was seriously ill. Several months after completing work on the project, William passed away.
  • Will Sampson argued with Forman about the concept of the Chief Bromden role and ultimately played it his own way.
  • In English, there is a common expression 'cuckoo's nest' meaning 'mental hospital.'
  • Alexander Morfov staged the play "Eclipse" based on the novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at the Lenkom Theater.
  • With the exception of the fishing scene (which was filmed last), the entire film was shot sequentially. The fishing scene was filmed in the smallest harbor in the world, located in Oregon.
  • Forman did not want to film the fishing scene at all, as he believed it would destroy the feeling of confinement experienced by the patients within the hospital space.
  • The film is based on Ken Kesey's novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1962).
  • Miloš Forman’s film was the second in history to win all the most significant awards at the Academy Awards ceremony: "Best Picture", "Best Director", "Best Adapted Screenplay", "Best Actor", and "Best Actress".
  • In English, there is a set expression "cuckoo's nest" which means "mental institution".
  • Alexander Morfov staged the play "Eclipse" based on the novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at the Lenkom Theatre.
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