Randle McMurphy
A rebellious con-artist recently charged with statutory rape of a fifteen-year-old girl. He convinces the authorities to put him in an asylum instead of prison for tendency toward "too much fucking and fighting," even though he is not mentally ill. He is a free and reckless man, with the charisma to pull the other patients onto his team, but his disrespect of authority becomes his downfall. He gambles, sleeps around, has no respect for the rules, and knows how to have a good time. McMurphy is an irreverent and badly behaved patient, but he also challenges authority in pursuit of his own personal definitions of justice and truth.
Nurse Ratched
The head nurse in the ward where McMurphy is placed. She is the polar opposite of McMurphy, a harsh taskmaster, a manipulative dictator, and a firm believer in the rules. Ratched is often manipulative and coercive, seeking to undermine the agency of her staff and patients by assuming moral superiority. Her and McMurphy's power struggle becomes the central conflict of the film.
Chief Bromden
An imposingly large and silent Native American who McMurphy befriends. Partway through the movie he reveals to McMurphy that he has only been pretending to be deaf and dumb. He tells McMurphy that his father was a drunk and that the authorities wanted to shrink him because he was too imposing of a figure. Chief stays quiet because he is afraid of the consequences of being his full size and self. His friendship with McMurphy is what empowers him to break out of the institution at the end.
Billy Bibbit
A stuttering, sweet young patient in the ward who has attempted suicide in the past. Billy is afraid of Nurse Ratched and of the authority of judgmental women, and becomes a devoted follower of McMurphy throughout the movie. Ratched's shaming of him after his fling with Candy drives him to suicide.
Harding
An obedient and responsible patient in the ward, implied to have an ambiguous sexuality. He has checked in to the asylum of his own freewill and discusses sexual issues and extreme jealousy of his wife in the group therapy. Ratched counts him as a loyal follower and is dismayed when he begins to take McMurphy's side.
Cheswick
An infantile bespectacled patient in the ward, who becomes worried about nearly everything and is a fierce loyalist. It is Cheswick's outburst that drives Ratched to consent to a second vote on the question of watching the World Series.
Martini
One of the patients, Martini is mentally simple and unable to follow basic rules in games. He is especially enamored of McMurphy's dirty playing cards.
Taber
One of the few patients who was committed to the institution against his will, Taber has an aggressive attitude. Taber enjoys taunting Harding and generally loves a fight. He is the ward bully, but he is also the most delighted when Chief escapes the ward, delightedly cheering at the sight.
Dr. Spivey
The head administrator at the institution. He is a calm and professional older doctor, who is flattered and taken in to some extent by McMurphy's charm, as McMurphy tries to level with him about his offense of statutory rape. McMurphy even gets Spivey to admit that it is impossible for any man to resist the body of a fifteen-year-old girl. He does not believe McMurphy is mentally ill, but he takes his cues from Nurse Ratched, his most trusted nurse. Spivey's square professionalism contrasts starkly with McMurphy's wild, freedom-loving abandon.
Candy
McMurphy's loose and kind-hearted girlfriend. A street-savvy woman who is non-judgmental and compliant and goes along with all of McMurphy's ideas. She is the foil to Nurse Ratched, exhibiting pliability, acceptance, and empty-headedness. McMurphy hates Ratched's power, but loves Candy's easy-going demeanor.
Nurse Pilbow
Nurse Ratched's loyal assistant.
Turkle
The night orderly in the ward. McMurphy bribes him into letting Candy and her friend into the ward after hours. As a black guard in a white-dominated institution, he worries about losing his job, which contrasts with the irreverence and confidence of McMurphy.
Washington
Another black orderly at the institution. He carries out Ratched's orders. McMurphy attacks him in the meeting when it is revealed that McMurphy will be indefinitely committed to the institution.
Warren
Another orderly.
Rose
Candy's friend, who is used to bribe Turkle into letting the women enter the facility.
Bancini
A tall patient whose shoulders McMurphy rides on to show Chief how to play basketball.
Matterson
An older patient who is in a wheelchair.
Scanlon
A patient with a large beard.
