Line #63 Characters/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest


1	----
2	[[foldercontrol]]
3
4	!!Acutes
5
6	[[folder:Chief Bromden]]
7	!!Chief Bromden
8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/97fbb57b4e760621e8b1f2206d6d1e3d.jpg]]
9	->'''Played By:''' Creator/WillSampson
10	\
11	The tall half-Indian narrator of the book with a smaller role in the film.
12	----
13	* TheBigGuy: Tall, very strong and handy in a fight.
14	* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: See UnreliableNarrator below. [=McMurphy=] puts it best after Bromden explains his history. Chief asks if he sounds insane due to all of his blatant metaphors and borderline rambling. Mac says yes. Then he adds:
15	--> ''"I said you were talking crazy, Chief. I didn't say you weren't making sense."''
16	* ElectiveMute: Ostensibly deaf-mute, though eventually reveals to [=McMurphy=] that he's faking it. He recalls that after being treated like an idiot for so long, he decided his opinion didn't matter anymore and became ridiculously withdrawn.
17	* FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator: He's telling the story, but [=McMurphy=] is the main character.
18	* GentleGiant: Here, it's played for drama. Bromden was rowdier in his youth, but an oppressive modern society wore him down over the years. He sees himself as a small man, despite being 6'7" (2 meters). He notes that his father, once a big, proud Native American, was similarly rendered weak by his domineering Caucasian wife.
19	* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Once he realizes that Randle has been lobotomized into being mentally weak and docile, he smothers him to prevent him from living this undignified life.]]
20	* MindControlConspiracy: Chief Bromden believes that Nurse Ratched, the hospital PR man, and others are part of "The Combine", an oppressive all-knowing [[NebulousEvilOrganization evil organization]] reminiscent of The Party from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''.
21	* TookALevelInBadass: [=McMurphy=], hating to see Bromden's size go to waste, puts him in a "training program" to get him in shape. His newfound strength allows him to help Mac in a fight against Ratched's aides, and later [[spoiler:break out of the ward after euthanizing [=McMurphy=]]].
22	* UnreliableNarrator: Due to his schizophrenia, much of his narration is not only hard to believe, but outright bizarre. With that said, he's aware of his own fondness for metaphors. Also, his dreams are prophetic; he finds that a fellow patient has died in his sleep after seeing a gruesome vision of his murder.
23	* TheVoiceless: In the movie, [[spoiler:but he starts talking after the reveal]].
24	* YouJustToldMe: How does [=McMurphy=] find out Chief wasn't deaf? One night, he runs through the ward warning patients that the asshole orderlies are coming. Chief pretends to sleep in response, meaning he heard everything [=McMurphy=] said. Mac noticed.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:R.P. [=McMurphy=]]]
28	!!Randle Patrick [=McMurphy=]
29	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xfag2.jpg]]
30	->'''Played By:''' Creator/JackNicholson
31	\
32	An Irish rogue who gets himself sent to the asylum to avoid prison for statutory rape charges. He quickly grows attached to the interns and becomes aware of their abuses from the orderlies and nurses and try to makes them get out of it.
33	----
34	* AdaptationDyeJob: Red-haired in the book, black-haired in the movie.
35	* BoisterousBruiser: Loudly sings in the middle of a mental ward? Check. Beats up the orderlies in the middle of a mental ward? Check.
36	* EveryoneHasStandards: Mac is a selfish jerk and statutory rapist, but he's absolutely shocked by the treatment of the patients under Nurse Ratched. In particular, he's stunned by how she escalates a petty disagreement with Cheswick into a full on freak-out, and disgusted by how she deliberately undoes Billy's progress and pushes him to suicide. He's so enraged by this that ''he tries to kill her''.
37	* FieryRedhead: Although he's played by the brunette Jack Nicholson in the film adaptation.
38	* FunWithAcronyms: Randle Patrick [=McMurphy=], R.P.M., is in constant, often circular (metaphorical) motion.
39	* HiddenDepths: Especially in the film, Mac shows himself to be a [[Main/TheSocialExpert social expert]] despite his outer roughness who can pick up on Nurse Ratched's subtle humiliation tactics. He's also much more empathetic than he originally appears.
40	** In the novel, Mac is also a skilled watercolor painter.
41	* InsanityDefense: He pretends to be insane so he can be sent to the asylum and avoid prison. Backfires horribly considering that the planned time in jail wasn't as long as he thought. [[spoiler: That, and the fact that the asylum will lead to his death]].
42	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mac is rude, crass, bigoted, and intentionally obnoxious. Despite all this, he hates the way that his fellow inmates are emotionally abused and controlled by Nurse Ratched and does what he can to improve their lives.
43	* LastNameBasis: Mac is friendly with all the patients but addresses them by their last names, and vice versa. Compare this to Nurse Ratched, who calls them [[FirstNameBasis by their given names]] but only [[TermsofEndangerment pretends to be friendly]].
44	* MessianicArchetype: Surprisingly. He's the savior of the ward who sacrifices himself to combat an oppressive establishment. The symbolism is hammered in when Mac is subjected to [[ElectricTorture electroshock therapy]]. Characters [[LampshadeHanging point out]] that the shock treatment machine, which has the patient lie down on a cross-shaped platform, evokes Jesus' crucifixion.
45	* OnlySaneMan: A downplayed example. Most of the other characters aren't exactly ''crazy'', but [=McMurphy=] is the first person on the ward to openly acknowledge the brutality of Nurse Ratched's treatment program. The rest of them knew this...they just didn't talk about it.
46	* PoliticallyIncorrectHero / UnscrupulousHero: Loud, obnoxious, casually racist and sexist, has no qualms about conning his fellow patients out of their money...did we mention the statutory charges? But he's the only one even ''trying'' to put an end to Ratched's tyranny.
47	* RealMenWearPink: In contrast to Harding, who is ashamed of his effeminacy, the hypermasculine [=McMurphy=] has no problem doing "frilly" things like painting pictures.
48	* SirSwearsALot: He's shown to drop quite a bit of f-bombs and other forms of profanity. Even more so than any of the other characters.
49	* TenMinuteRetirement: At one point, Mac learns that since he's committed, Ratched can keep him in the ward indefinitely, so he decides to behave, to his friends' chagrin. This sticks until he learns that most of the other patients ''aren't'' committed; they could leave any time, but have been so cowed by Ratched that they don't want to. To show them that life is worth living, [=McMurphy=] resolves to [[HesBack redouble his efforts]] in messing with the Big Nurse.
50	* VorpalPillow: [[spoiler: After he's lobotomized into a vegetative state, Chief does this to end his misery.]]
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Billy Bibbit]]
54	!!Billy Bibbit
55	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7034596_orig.jpg]]
56	->'''Played By:''' Creator/BradDourif
57	\
58	One of the younger and more innocent men in the asylum. Shy, stuttering and having socializing issues. He looks up to [=McMurphy=] like a big brother.
59	----
60
61	* AlliterativeName: '''B'''illy '''B'''ibbit.
62	* BrokenBird: He is adorable until you realize that he is a grown adult in an asylum, making his case a lot sadder.
63	* TheCutie: He's a sweet, cute young man in his 20s and one of the more pleasant characters. [[spoiler: It makes his suicide all the more sad.]]
64	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: After the Nurse threatens to tell his mother of his sexual escapades.]]
65	* EmotionalRegression: He is chronically shy, soft-spoken, emasculated, with an intense fear of his mother and an unrelenting stutter. With the help of [=McMurphy=], he manages to have sex for the first time, losing his virginity and gaining the confidence of a man. However, they were supposed to escape from the mental hospital and ended up falling asleep. When Nurse Ratched returns, she calls him out and attempts to shame him. He says in perfect and unhesitant English that he's proud of himself and isn't having any of it. Then she says she's going to tell his mother...
66	* ExtremeDoormat: He is unable to get angry and always try to satisfy everyone, resulting in him getting constantly manipulated and can't find the time to follow his dreams. [[spoiler:He eventually shows oppositon by committing suicide]].
67	* InnocentBlueEyes: Has pretty, wide blue eyes and is the most innocent and naive of the guys.
68	* MyBelovedSmother: Ms. Bibbit treats her adult son like a fragile child and has no qualms about it. Ratched, who is friends with her, manipulates and torments the poor guy by threatening to tell his mother what he's done.
69	* OlderThanTheyLook: Billy is by no means old, but his boyish looks and timid personality make him seem a lot younger than he actually is.
70	* SpeechImpediment: He's got a pretty bad stutter. He grimly jokes that he's been stuttering since he could talk. When he loses his virginity, [[StutterStop it goes away]] [[spoiler: until Ratched threatens to tell his mother what happened]].
71	* StutterStop: After making-out and growing in confidence, his stutter disappears.
72	----
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Charles Cheswick]]
76	!!Charles Cheswick
77	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oneflewcheswick.jpg]]
78	-> '''Played By:''' Creator/SydneyLassick
79	\
80	A loudmouthed asylum patient who also looks up to [=McMurphy=]. Probably a bit too much, as he ends up codependent.
81	----
82	* AlliterativeName: '''C'''harles '''C'''heswick.
83	* BoisterousWeakling: In a sense. Cheswick is loud and demanding but does not have the guts or know-how to make things happen. Indeed, the reason he clings to [=McMurphy=] is because Mac has what it takes to see things through.
84	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Let's just say he takes Mac's [[TenMinuteRetirement decision to quit trolling Ratched]] rather hard. During an exercise session at the ward's pool, he drowns himself... This is only in the novel, though. Cheswick survives the film.]]
85	* LargeHam: He generally behaves like Curly Howard of The Three Stooges, but his outburst over having the cigarettes rationed (because as Nurse Ratched points out, [=McMurphy=] cons the rest of the patients out of them) is genuinely frightening.
86	* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: In the novel, Cheswick commits suicide by drowning himself in the hospital pool following an emotional breakdown. He neither commits nor attempts suicide in the movie. This is done to make Billy's suicide stand out more]].
87	* TookALevelInBadass: Cheswick seemingly becomes more confident due to [=McMurphy's=] influence. [[SubvertedTrope Unfortunately]], he falls into despair the minute it's made clear [=McMurphy=] won't be standing up for him anymore.
88	----
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Dale Harding]]
92	!!Dale Harding
93	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6846691_orig.jpg]]
94	-> '''Played By:''' William Redfield
95	\
96	An intelligent middle-aged man (in the movies; in the novel he's something of a pretty boy) who struggles with being unable to please his promiscuous wife, likely due to being a closeted homosexual.
97	----
98	* AdaptationalWimp: In the book Harding, while pompous and perhaps overly verbose, was still quite clever and insightful, coming up with excellent ideas and giving some very cutting lectures about the situation of the hospital and [=McMurphy=]. In the film he's more of a straightforward Butt-Monkey.
99	* AmbiguouslyGay / TransparentCloset: These are played with throughout the book; Harding committed himself because he couldn't deal with being gay. In the stage version, where his wife is an unseen character, he tilts more to the ambiguous side. In the book, more to the transparent. This aspect of his character is completely absent from the film, where he's much more of a background character.
100	* MrExposition: Harding is well-informed about procedures and patients alike, and spends a lot of his time teaching [=McMurphy=] and the reader about how things go down in Nurse Ratched's ward.
101	* PrettyBoy: Bromden continually calls Harding a "pretty man" with movie-star looks and delicate-looking hands. This is downplayed considerably in the film, where he is portrayed as average looking.
102	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness / SpockSpeak: Harding is the most educated patient in the ward. He'll [[InsufferableGenius let you know that]] with every other statement out of his mouth.
103	* TheSmartGuy: Given the above? Naturally.
104	----
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Martini]]
108	!!Martini
109	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/martini_5.jpg]]
110	--> '''Played By:''' Creator/DannyDeVito
111	\
112	A docile, mentally disabled short man.
113	----
114	* FunnySchizophrenia: In the book it's much more explicit that he sees and hears things, but this is mostly played for laughs, mostly because of how Martini and the others are unbothered by it.
115	* OnlyOneName: Only known as Martini.
116	* PerpetualSmiler: He likes to smile a lot.
117	----
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Max Taber]]
121	!!Max Taber
122	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/11182040_623951377705535_600319982033292596_n.jpg]]
123	-> '''Played By:''' Creator/ChristopherLloyd
124	\
125	A surly, committed patient who causes the most disruption after [=McMurphy=].
126	----
127	* AscendedExtra: In the book, Taber was a past patient mentioned a few times by Chief. In the film adaptation, he is a main character on the ward while [=McMurphy=] is there.
128	* TheBully: Can be abrasive, but seems quiet and reserved when not in those moods.
129	* CompositeCharacter: In the film, Taber gets much of his dialogue, personality, and being one of the only patients committed, from Scanlon's character from the book.
130	* LargeHam: Along with MotorMouth.
131	* OhCrapSmile: When he is caught by Nurse Ratched [[spoiler:in the mess left by the party last night]].
132	* {{Jerkass}}: Mostly to Harding.
133	----
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Jim Sefelt and Bruce Fredrickson]]
137	!!James "Jim" Sefelt and Bruce Fredrickson
138	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/26232329_1223969994370334_1789676758747840449_o_2.png]]
139	->'''Played By:''' William Duell and {{Creator/Vincent Schiavelli}}
140	\
141
142	----
143	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: In the book, Fredrickson was talkative and argumentative towards [=McMurphy=] and the staff. He also had [[AdaptationDyeJob blond hair.]]
144	* BodyHorror: Sefelt refuses to take his medication because it make his hair and teeth fall out. In the book-after a seizure-a couple of his teeth come out with the stick the orderly put in his mouth.
145	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Are very close in spite of the age difference. At the time, Vincent Schiavelli was 27 and William Duell was 52.
146	* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Fredrickson touches and is close to Sefelt a lot of the time, which the older man doesn’t seem to mind.
147	* OneHeadTaller: Fredrickson being played by 6’5 Vincent Schiavelli next to William Duell's small and slight Sefelt.
148	* TheQuietOne: Though he is shown whispering to Sefelt at times, Fredrickson talks the least out of all the men there. In the book, Sefelt actually spoke the least.
149	* ThoseTwoGuys: Contrasting and inseparable.
150	----
151	[[/folder]]
152	----
153
154	!! Staff
155
156	[[folder:Nurse Ratched]]
157	!!Nurse Mildred Ratched
158	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nurse_ratched_louise_fletcher_600.jpg]]
159	->'''Played By:''' Creator/LouiseFletcher
160	\
161	The head nurse of the mental ward, and the [[BigBad main antagonist]] of the book and movie. Ratched, a sadistic control freak, runs the ward with an iron fist. She uses everything from psychological torment to lobotomy to keep the patients under her thumb.\
162	See also ''Series/{{Ratched}}'', a series focusing on her [[OriginsEpisode origin story]].
163	----
164
165	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Downplayed. She seems more sympathetic in the movie adaptation but still keeps her antagonistic role.
166	* BattleaxeNurse: One of the most famous examples in all of fiction. She's cold, manipulative, and domineering to her patients. Her name is almost synonymous with the concept of a scumbag nurse.
167	* BigBad: The antagonist who opposes [=McMurphy=] throughout the story.
168	* BitchInSheepsClothing: In front of her superiors, she comes across as polite and humble.
169	* DefeatByModesty: When Randle assaults her, he rips her shirt off, exposing her breasts to everyone.
170	* DevilishHairHorns: Although ''slightly'' more subtle than most examples, in the movie, her hair is curled up in a way that resembles horns.
171	* TheDreaded: Nearly everyone on the ward is afraid of her.
172	* DCupDistress: The novel repeatedly notes that Ratched has an ample bosom. It's said that she resents her breasts because they represent her femininity, and thus her human, vulnerable side.
173	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Well, not actually everyone, but in the novel Chief Bromden always refers to her as "the Big Nurse".[[note]] A play on Big Brother in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. [[/note]]
174	* FauxAffablyEvil: She's very good at playing nice when it suits her purposes, whether it be to earn the adoration of her colleagues or to manipulate her patients.
175	* HateSink: She exists solely to be an irredeemable sadist to [=McMurphy=] and the other patients. Kesey very much wanted the readers to fear and hate her.
176	* HumiliationConga: [[spoiler:[=McMurphy=], driven to the edge, strangles Ratched nearly to death. He also [[DefeatByModesty rips her shirt off]], exposing her huge breasts to everyone. When she returns to work, her voice is screwed up and the patients no longer take her seriously.]]
177	* IronLady: In the hospital, her power is absolute; there's nobody willing or able to challenge her authority. Then a certain red-headed Irishman shows up.
178	* IWasQuiteALooker: Ratched is described as a "handsome" woman. Early in the story, Harding and [=McMurphy=] concede that she was likely very beautiful in her prime.
179	* ManipulativeBastard: [=McMurphy=] is the first to point out how good she is at subtle emasculation, though the others are fully aware of it. She knows her patients' (and a doctor's) weaknesses so well that even hinting at them is enough to keep the men in line.
180	* MarriedToTheJob: Her life revolves around her job of nurse more than anything.
181	* MeaningfulName: "Ratched" sounds like "ratchet," emphasizing how Bromden sees her as mechanical. "Wretched" also seems an apt play.
182	* NonActionBigBad: She needn't lift a finger when threats, humiliation, and her goon squad of aides work just fine. [[JustifiedTrope In the book, at least, she's fairly old]]. [[spoiler:When [=McMurphy=] finally snaps and strangles her, she can't do a thing about it.]]
183	* RepressiveButEfficient: This is how Ratched's superiors view her special brand of treatment. As long as the patients are kept in line, who cares about her methods, [[SarcasmMode right]]?
184	* TheSociopath: More so in the book.
185	* TranquilFury: She's very easy to anger, but she rarely acts overtly hostile. Harding notes that this helps her in dealing with the patients: Ratched's uncanny grace under fire makes her targets lose their resolve. Even after [=McMurphy=] shows up, she generally reacts to his antics with subtle, silly tics that only Bromden notices.
186	----
187	[[/folder]]
188
189	[[folder:Attendants Washington, Warren and Williams/Miller]]
190	!!Attendants Washington, Warren, and Williams/Miller
191	[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1435.png]]
192	->'''Played By:''' Nathan George, Mwako Cumbaka, Alonzo Brown
193	\
194	A group of African-Americans attending the asylum. Washington is the right-hand man of Nurse Ratched. He has two orderlies, Warren and Williams (Miller in the film).
195	----
196	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Downplayed in the movie, which doesn't give their characters much development and makes them seem less cruel.
197	* AdaptationNameChange: Williams is renamed Miller in the film.
198	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: '''W'''illiams, '''W'''arren and '''W'''ashington.
199	* GoKartingWithBowser: When Washington and the others orderlies start playing basketball with the interns.
200	* KarmaHoudini: After one of them knocks [=McMurphy=] unconscious, they are never seen again afterwards by the next scene. Furthermore, unlike Ratched, they get off easy just like most of the institute in the movie.
201	* LastNameBasis: They are only called by their last name, and themselves does the same for everyone.
202	* MarriedToTheJob: Not much to their choice since the job calls for them to stay in the asylum in permanence.
203	* OnlyOneName: They are only known by their last name.
204	* OrderliesAreCreeps: They are hired by Ratched purposefully because he is filled with hate and shows no concerns for the patients.
205	* {{Sadist}}: They deliberately enjoy messing with the inmates.
206	* TragicBigot: Williams witnessed his black mother being raped by a white man when he was only five and has held a grudge against white men ever since.
207	----
208	[[/folder]]
209
210	[[folder:Nightguard Turkle]]
211	!!Mr. Turkle
212	[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrturkle.jpg]]
213	->'''Played By:''' Creator/ScatmanCrothers
214	\
215	The night guard of the asylum, supervising the interns during bedtime. He accepts to let the acutes do what they want without reporting after Randle offers him drinks.
216	----
217	* DrinkingOnDuty: Being stuck in the asylum, it's hard for him to get alcohol. That's why he accepts the gift of [=McMurphy=]. Later, he starts drinking knowing his job will be over.
218	* DrowningMySorrows: After the interns mess up his office, knowing he will inevitably be caught for what he did, he starts drinking to forget the anguish.
219	* FoodAsBribe: In this case, drinks.
220	* OhCrapSmile: When Nurse Ratched caught him in his messy office after letting the acutes make a night party.
221	* TokenGoodTeammate: One of the few sympathetic members of the asylum staff.
222	----
223	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest