What It’s Like to be Tortured on Ratched
None of the characters in Ratched, the new Netflix series telling the origin story of the menacing nurse made famous by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, have it easy. Almost everyone we meet in the series—from Sarah Paulson's Nurse Ratched to Sharon Stone’s Lenore Osgood, Sophie Okonedo’s Charlotte Wells, Charlie Carver’s Huck Finnigan, and beyond—is angry, troubled, or downright murderous. But does anyone have it as bad as Lily Cartwright?
Played by Annie Starke, Lily is a new arrival at Lucia State Hospital who’s subjected to horrifying treatments, including a lobotomy and an unforgettable scene of hot-water hydrotherapy, meant to “cure” her of her lesbianism. Hint: it doesn’t work. Still, Lily is the rare character in the series to elicit sympathy from Ratched herself, and despite what she goes through, she’s also one of the few to find what might be a happy ending amongst the maniacs and monsters who populate the series.
Here, Starke (who previously starred in The Wife) talks to T&C about living through Lily’s torture scenes and finding a silver lining for psychopaths.
Lily’s a gay woman in an unforgiving time, and she’s subject to horrifying medical treatment. What makes a character like that interesting for you?
With any character I play, I try to give them a heart and soul—and with Lily especially. She’s a snapshot of how gay people were treated. It was medieval, and it wasn’t that long ago—that kind of water treatment stopped maybe 50 years ago. The cruelty that they experienced, and in some cases still do to this day, made me want to really do right by her. To be told that to experience the beautiful feelings of love makes you mentally ill, and that everything you feel is wrong… Heartbreaking isn’t a strong enough word.
She seems like she’s about to be boiled alive during her hydrotherapy scenes. What was it like to shoot those?
First of all, they asked “do you have horrible problems with claustrophobia?” It’s like, well, we’ll see! Still, doing a scene like that, you learn to use fear to your advantage. Some of that fear was a little bit real. But it was an honor to be able to play her, even though my heart breaks for her and she’s a character I’ll hold close for a long time.
Even though the hospital was filmed on a soundstage, for the viewer it feels scary and a bit haunted. What was the feeling like on set?
There were some somber moments. They were moments that demand not only your full attention—you’re in this intense headspace—but also respect. When it was appropriate, there was certainly a serious tone on this set. But it was also one of the most inspirational sets I’ve ever been on—walking into that studio, it was transformative. The other incredible thing is to be surrounded by people who are all so good at their jobs, when every little detail is considered, makes you want to just be a sponge. It was one of those jobs where you really need to bring it.
There are going to be people who watch Ratched who aren’t familiar with Cuckoo’s Nest. What about the character and this world created for her do you think will resonate today?
I’m very familiar with the film, but what’s so great is the instant excitement people get when they hear what the series is about, and that it’s focused on that character in particular. I think Sarah Paulson did an amazing job with humanizing a character who we’ve all always thought was so terrifying. But of course, with every person in the universe there are so many layers. And I’m a big believer that nobody’s born evil, so you have to sympathize with the hand of cards she was dealt.
Since you filmed Lily’s water torture scene, have you been able to get back into a bathtub?
I wouldn’t call myself claustrophobic. It’s not like I love crawling into small spaces, but it isn’t something I really thought about until I was in a tub with only my head sticking out. The fact that people used to do this … It would definitely make you exponentially worse to be in that position, whether you’re mentally ill or not. The fact that it was real until not terribly long ago is mind blowing.
As far as we know, Lily seems to have escaped the kind of horrible fate so many of the other characters faced. When it comes time for season two, do you think we’ll see her again?
I’m crossing my fingers that we bring her back. There’s so much to say about Lily and how she navigates the world as a gay woman and a medical experiment. I hope she comes back—maybe she’ll be hellbent on revenge. That’d be fun.
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