One of the more unruffled characters on Max’s The Pitt is Dr. Cassie McKay, a second-year resident who’s life experience (and unfortunate skeletons) make her an easy-to-like standout in the emergency room.
Here, journeyman actor Fiona Dourif — whose previous credits on the small screen have included Chucky, The Blacklist and The Purge — talks about playing a doc who turns heads for her bedside manner and the electronic bracelet around her ankle.
DEADLINE How would you describe Dr. McKay?
FIONA DOURIF I think one of the things that differentiates McKay is that there was this gap in between high school and college and medical school where she made a lot of bad decisions and got herself in a lot of places that are a little questionable and scary. So there’s been this wealth of life experience that makes her a touch unflappable. Maybe it’s a little bit of wisdom. She has a touch of empathy for people in difficult situations because she feels like she’s been there.
DEADLINE She’s definitely older than the kids running around, right?
DOURIF Yes. She’s a 42-year-old second-year resident. So it would be like her sixth year.
DEADLINE How did this role first find you?
DOURIF I was actually in Europe at the time, and when the audition came in and I read the bio, I thought to myself, I am a version of that character. I got a call about a week later saying that they were interested and that I needed to fly back to LA for the audition process. I remember all these good things were happening at the airport. This lady picked me out of line and had me go up to the front. It was just a weird, charmed 15-hour flight. Nobody sat next to me. And then once we were cast, I was brought in and they gave us a backstory, which was about three paragraphs of what they thought my life was. They did this for each character, where we came from. It was so close to my actual life. So that’s nice.
DEADLINE What did you make of the set-up when you first came on set, that you and the others were going to be in this one room for multiple weeks?
DOURIF Multiple months! Eight months. It doesn’t feel like a regular TV show. It doesn’t feel like anything I’ve ever done before. There’s not really an infrastructure there to make you feel super comfortable or one that treats one person better than another. It’s all very favored nations. You go in, you change into your scrubs, you get basic hair and makeup, and then you walk into this set, which is a hospital with no breakaway walls like a ceiling. It just looks like you’re walking into a hospital and you don’t really have time to go back to a dressing room or anything because there’s not really much lighting for each setup. We shoot in order. It feels very much like a play. There are so many characters in each shot behind you and in front of you, and the camera’s whipping around so you can’t really stop in the middle of a take.
DEADLINE Other than Noah Wyle, this was a cast of mostly unknowns. Did you wonder if it was going to be a slow build?
DOURIF I never think anything great is going to happen to me. I mean, I knew that the show was different and I knew that the show was good, but I couldn’t imagine having gotten this lucky. It’s just the whole thing felt like I won some kind of crazy lottery later in my career, which doesn’t usually happen. I mean, I was 42 when I was cast in definitely the biggest role of my life. So I’ve waited a lot of tables in my life and done a lot of guest stars so I felt very aware of how special the show is. When John Wells screened the first episode for everybody, it was clear that we were making something special.
DEADLINE So it seemed early on for McKay that maybe you rubbed Noah Wyle’s Robby the wrong way and there could be tension. Does that continue?
DOURIF I think the main feeling Cassie has of Robby is admiration, to be honest. I think that he was dragging his feet on making a decision about the suspected shooter, which was frustrating. I think people can have blind spots and he was having a blind spot about the potential threat and the consequences if we got this wrong. But he also took responsibility for it. And right toward the end of the mass shooting, it becomes clear that his adopted stepson was there. Watching somebody who feels like the backbone of the hospital get tested to that degree was honestly unnerving for everybody. I think it was true for most of us, we look up to Noah Wyle. He’s incredibly gracious, but also his performance is just so effortless. We also look up to Robby.
DEADLINE Why is it important to show what’s happening at home for McKay?
DOURIF I think the themes that we explore with McKay are the challenges of making it on your own. She has not been coddled in her life and she’s made bad decisions and is still dealing with the repercussions of them. It’s kind of her strength as a doctor. But it’s all quite embarrassing. I don’t think she would talk about it. The primary feeling that I was get while performing is that it’s just like humiliation. It’s so embarrassing that I would get to a position where I would have to wear an ankle monitor and then to be in relationship with a man-child who thinks that I still struggle with addiction. The whole thing is quite humiliating.
DEADLINE There hasn’t been a clear explanation for your ankle monitor, right?
DOURIF It’s very clear to me. But it’s left a little bit to your imagination.
DEADLINE Will we ever learn?
DOURIF Maybe. I think there’s a lot of room for more discovery. I am curious where they take it in season two.
DEADLINE The mass casualties have resulted in a heck of a lot of blood and gore in that space. Any chance it made you feel a little queasy?
DOURIF No. I have a lot of history with playing serial killers in very bloody situations, so that part felt very normal. I feel like I’ve spent my thirties covered in fake blood. The primary experience was how every single person in the cast was there from 6 AM to 6 PM every day. We reported for work and we were all in the background of each other’s scenes. So it felt overwhelming and tiring in a way that sort of helped the performance. It’s also a pretty joyful set. Everybody really likes each other and there’s no egos flying around.
DEADLINE Have you been mistaken for a doctor while out and about in the wild?
DOURIF I’m getting a lot of strangers on the street coming up to me and being like, ‘Did we go to school together? Where are you from?’ I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t want to be like, ‘I’m an actor.’ I do feel like I could intubate somebody since I’ve done it so many times. I’m here for you, guys.
