The Pitt Star You Likely Forgot Was In Christopher Nolan's Tenet

Fiona Dourif has completely changed her career with her role on HBO Max's hit medical drama "The Pitt." While Dourif had long been known as a mainstay in horror movies, now, in her 40s, she's a bigger star than she's ever been thanks to her work as Dr. Cassie McKay.

Even real-life doctors say "The Pitt" is pretty realistic. That's only further helped viewers latch onto the show and the characters who make it what it is, and the considerate, empathetic Dr. McKay has been a huge part of that. But years before she put on scrubs to save lives on this breakout series, Dourif co-starred in Christopher Nolan's time-bending thriller "Tenet."

Released in 2020, Nolan's sci-fi movie follows a secret agent known only as the Protagonist (John David Washington) as he embarks on a dangerous mission to prevent the start of World War III. From there, however, things get increasingly weird, with lots of surprisingly practical time-bending action along the way. Meanwhile, Washington is joined in the "Tenet" cast by the likes of Robert Pattinson ("The Batman"), Elizabeth Debicki ("The Crown"), and Kenneth Branagh ("Murder on the Orient Express"), although Dourif has her own part to play in the proceedings.

Specifically, Dourif co-stars in "Tenet" as Wheeler, a soldier who leads Blue Team under the watch of the Tenet organization's military commander Ives (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Her role is relatively small compared to the movie's leads, but beyond that, Dourif is loaded down with military gear the whole time. So, it would be pretty easy for anyone familiar with her work to not immediately recognize her. (In the film, anyway; Dourif took a clear photo of herself alongside Pattinson on the "Tenet" set during production, as you can see here.)

"Tenet" resulted in a clash between Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan, as the latter was intent on using the film to revitalize the box office during the lockdown era of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The movie didn't do well financially by blockbuster standards, but it did relatively okay under the circumstances. Still, given the conversation around the film and what was happening in the world, it wasn't the hit that all concerned parties had hoped for. Indeed, "Tenet" is one of the more divisive movies the writer/director behind "The Dark Knight" and "Inception" has ever made, and even Nolan himself thinks a lot of people are missing the point of the film.

Speaking with Flaunt, Fiona Dourif once addressed what it's like working alongside an auteur director such as Nolan or Paul Thomas Anderson (whom she collaborated with on "The Master"). As she told it, acting is acting no matter who's behind the camera, but there are some differences:

"Acting is acting. However, it is much easier on set when everyone trusts the director. We feel reassured that they won't move on unless they have the performance, and they usually have the money to do that. I remember Paul Thomas Anderson rarely said action; he would just let us begin the scene when we were ready. That was cool."

In the case of "Tenet," Dourif was working on a $200 million tentpole with hundreds of extras and nightmare logistical scenarios, given that certain scenes had to be filmed to suit the time-shifting nature of the movie's action. But again, as Dourif observed, acting's always easier when you have a great director like Nolan leading the charge, no matter the project.

"The Pitt" is currently streaming on HBO Max.