Self-Reflection and Decompression: Fiona Dourif on the Healing and Happiness ‘The Pitt’ Brings For Her
Dourif, who is no stranger to chaotic and intense roles discusses the great journey her Dr. McKay has taken over two seasons, and how she creates a balanced centre to all she does.
When an actor often plays chaotic or extreme characters, there may be an unfair expectation as to how that person is going to live their life. We almost expect someone such as Nicholas Cage to eat animals purely based on their mating rituals, or for Tom Cruise to use a ‘bird poop facial’ as part of his daily skin routine. Ok. Bad examples, as those are both reportedly true stories, but it’s not always the case.
Take for instance Fiona Dourif, with a surname rife with a varied history within science fiction, horror and more obscure, exciting filmmaking. Fiona specifically has been a part of the Chucky franchise, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency as a Holistic Assassin, and has notably portrayed a cult leader, a post-apocalyptic rat woman, and a witch. With all those chaotic characters bouncing around in Dourif’s head, one would expect a little eccentricity, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sitting opposite me via Zoom is a woman who has possibly purged a lot of the chaos from her system already. She asks my name and introduces herself graciously, as if I wasn’t already familiar with her eclectic body of work, especially her brilliant turn as Dr. Cassie McKay on HBO’s megahit ‘The Pitt’.
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She exudes humility and a learnedness appropriate for her life experience, and what’s even better is she clearly, like many actors, has a story or two to tell about that life. That journey seemingly mirrors that of McKay, as Cassie is also someone who made some mistakes, got things together a little later in life and can now teach others.
“That was very much my experience,” Dourif admits. “I had a long and twisting road to getting my feet on the ground. It wasn't immediate for me. I was a very stupid teenager. I made a lot of mistakes. I got in a lot of trouble. All of that was real, and oftentimes, you know, you're cast for like, a quality, and nobody can really pinpoint what it is, and I just have that Cassie quality, because it was true.”
Truth is a big component for Dourif as a performer, believing in a therapeutic strategy known as the ‘Gestalt event’ - essentially an in-the-moment experience where a person becomes fully aware of who they are, especially in that moment. We’ve all had these epiphanies that then go to shape who we are as a person, and being able to understand a gestalt event for a character helps Dourif understand who that character is.
Dourif explains the process as “something that activates you.” Playing McKay at this point, after a first season chock full of possible gestalt events, Dourif has a rich fictional history within the character to choose from. “This is the second character that I'm playing over multiple years, and you get a sense of what it feels like to be them. That's the initial research that you're looking for - what is something that's happened that shapes how the character would feel in the world? Cassie was very easy for me, just because it's so close to who I am as a person. I think she approaches the world in a similar way to what I do, which just comes from having had some difficulties.”
There’s been a major change in the air this season when it comes to Cassie. As mentioned, last year was full of turbulence for our journeyman-doctor. Audiences learned about her alcoholism which inevitably led to domestic issues, almost losing her son, Harrison, and even a run in with the law which included a house-arrest situation. The point is, Cassie, like Dourif, has worked through her issues.The character is in a much healthier, happier place this season, no longer wearing the beeping bracelet around her ankle or the emotional baggage on her back. The character has had some extremely memorable moments within the show where she’s interacted with Javadi (Shabana Azeez) in a surrogate mentor relationship, and even had guidance for Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) about sobriety and support. Dourif would disagree, not simply because Cassie wouldn’t consider herself a role model, but perhaps she still dwells on those past mistakes. Perhaps she isn’t the one to give advice.
“I think part of the success of the show is it's really trying to show flawed people. Everybody is trying to do their best, so there's no real heroes. Even Robbie [Noah Wyle], who I think everybody in America at this point looks up to, he's a very flawed guy.”
But it’s part of the reason that McKay has been such a compelling character this season, and why fans are truly gravitating towards Dourif’s performance. She has balanced tenderness and realness, melancholy and joy, and juxtaposed her performance last season by showing a real journey from the chaos of season one, to McKay trying to get things together this season. As mentioned, the gestalt event being part of her process really gives Dourife the opportunity to create a well rounded character with a real history. That history has perhaps been in the writing for her more than other characters in The Pitt, but Dourif certainly puts in the work, and it shows this season. When asked about that journey and juxtaposition, like so many great actors, Dourif studies the text to create that full fledged history.
“I think season two is very much about the doctors dealing with the aftermath of the mass casualty [in season one], and the toll that that takes on the people who are up against witnessing that much death. I think Cassie is better at selfcare than other doctors in the hospital, just because she's had a lot of travails. This season, oddly enough, is much more about self-actualization and what she wants her life to look like when she dies, which is very much reflected in the Roxy storyline. Just how fleeting the whole thing is. It was fun to play, and often feels like it reflects my real life and I'm grateful for the whole ride.”