The back half of “Chucky” season one kicked off with the return of major franchise players Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) and Nica (Fiona Dourif). Or rather, Chucky inhabiting Nica’s body, thanks to the events of Cult of Chucky. In just two episodes, Dourif established herself to have one of the most complicated roles yet; the actress plays Chucky past and present, and a Nica battling for control.
With just two more episodes left this season, Bloody Disgusting chatted with the actress about playing the human version of Charles Lee Ray, Nica’s budding relationship with Tiffany, and what to expect from what she promises will be a bonkers finale.
In “Little Little Lies,” Dourif surprised us when it was revealed that she was the actress under the prosthetics that recreated a young Charles Lee Ray in the episode’s flashbacks. When asked if her father, Brad Dourif, saw her in makeup, Fiona Dourif answered, “I FaceTimed him, and he looked at me and asked, ‘What’s going on with your face?’ He hadn’t quite put together that I was playing him as young Charles. He told me to walk with my chest as opposed to my hips. That was a big note from him.“
Dourif didn’t just test her performance and makeup on dad, but strangers as well. She recounts how she went off set to see if she could pass as Charles Lee Ray. “They had to shoot another scene before the prosthetics people, who were so talented, were going to be able to take the prosthetics off me. So, there was this biker bar type place by set, and I was still looking like him in costume. I decided to see if I passed, and I went into this bar. I tried to keep my voice low. I passed as a man always. People didn’t think it was makeup. I got the experience of sitting in a bar. I tried to flirt with the waitress but got a little nervous.”
While Dourif’s voice passed in practice, “Little Little Lies” featured her father’s voice dubbed over her performance. When asked about the decision, Dourif answered, “They made that decision way late. It was originally my voice, and I was doing a copy of his. I think they made the decision to dub my dad because it also sounded like Nica possessed. They thought that would be confusing. I was surprised; they made that decision very late too. I almost don’t know how to describe how strange it is to see the remnants of my features with my dad’s face and voice on top of me.”
Outside of playing a younger Charles Lee Ray, Dourif gets to play Chucky as Nica as well as a trapped Nica. The actress described what it’s like juggling so many variations of character this season. “Nica is in a crazy place. When it was first pitched that I got to play Chucky at the end of Cult, I was so excited. I remember the switching back and forth was something that I had to practice a lot with what the physically looked like, like dropping to the floor, as it would take you over. That had to be really specific. There was a lot of me dropping midsentence to the floor to practice getting that right.
CHUCKY — “Cape Queer” Episode 106 — Pictured in this screengrab: Fiona Dourif as Nica Pierce — (Photo by: SYFY/USA Network)
“I think Nica’s a complicated heroine. I think she’s got suffering in her life and then determination. It’s a beautiful character to play. I might like playing Charles or Chucky a little bit better because he’s having the most fun of all of them. That’s the trick inside Chucky. And I think that’s why people like him so much, right? He’s irreverent and having fun. He loves his job. He’s so free, yeah.”
The most recent episode, “Cape Queer,” brought a new complicated layer to Nica’s predicament with Tiffany looking for love from her. Dourif said of the development, “That was something that we had to think about. If Chucky leaves and it’s Nica, I still have this woman who I think is quite deranged but also so vulnerable. There’s something at the heart of Tiffany where she just wants to be loved; how Nica would deal with that. What would that sex be like? We had to have all those conversations. How much kindness is in it? Because I think in the end, Nica feels bad for her. She maybe doesn’t want to have sex with her, but she feels bad for her. And I think they probably, they just might, you know.”
While Dourif couldn’t share what’s ahead in the final episodes of the season, she did promise a wild ride that fans won’t see coming.
“I’ll tell you this; the finale is bonkers. It just gets so crazy and goes places that I wasn’t expecting. And while we were making it, there were times where it was like three in the morning, and we were sitting behind these monitors, with all the puppeteers and Don [Mancini]. We’re just giggly with glee and laughter. We had real freedom to make it really crazy, and we had a lot of fun. I think the fans are going to like it also. I have a good bit of confidence.”
New episodes of “Chucky” air Tuesday nights on USA and SYFY.