“She had sacrificed her life for other people, she hasn’t married, hadn’t done this, hadn’t done that, and was self-sufficient on her own leading this life, because she dedicated her life, her earlier life, to other people who needed her. She was a 40-year-old virgin, and was very turned on by this McMurphy guy.”
One key to Nurse Ratched is her need for absolute control, Fletcher said. Another is her conviction that she’s always right. In “Cuckoo’s Nest,” the character kept an iron grip on her charges in a soft-spoken way, which made the menace behind her words even more frightening.
Based on the trailer for the “Ratched” series, Paulson has adopted Fletcher’s less-is-more approach, relying on a whispery tone, a steely stare and highly dangerous intent.
“She had sacrificed her life for other people, she hasn’t married, hadn’t done this, hadn’t done that, and was self-sufficient on her own leading this life, because she dedicated her life, her earlier life, to other people who needed her. She was a 40-year-old virgin, and was very turned on by this McMurphy guy.”
-- Louise Fletcher
Ratchet
"I find it too painful," said Fletcher, 78. "It comes with age. I can't watch movies that are inhumane."