One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest/Trivia

• Ability Over Appearance: Jack Nicholson looks nothing like the character as described in the book, but was cast because of his acting ability.
• Creative Differences: Jack Nicholson and director Milos Forman had a falling out over McMurphy's motivation during pre-production of the film adaptation, leading to Jack and Milos speaking through the cinematographer and Jack not contributing anything to the film's DVD special features.
• Development Hell: After starring as McMurphy in a 1963 Broadway adaptation of the novel, Kirk Douglas obtained the movie rights and spent a decade trying to obtain funding. By the time his son, Michael Douglas, was able to secure a production deal, Kirk had gotten too old (and/or unbankable) for the role.
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Actual asylum inmates were used as extras.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: In the movie, Jack Torrance, Doc Brown, Louie de Palma, MacNair, Carrie White's teacher, and the subway guy from Ghost are all in a mental hospital together!
  • The 1963 Broadway adaptation had Spartacus as McMurphy, John Adams as Harding, and a young Leo Bloom as Billy Bibbitt.
• Made on Drugs: According to Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Ken Kesey wrote several passages of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on LSD and/or peyote.
• What Could Have Been: Ken Kesey wanted Gene Hackman to play McMurphy in the film. Marlon Brando and Burt Reynolds were also considered for the role before Jack Nicholson was selected.