Kathy Bates felt 'unprotected' while filming Misery

Bang Showbiz on Sep 10, 2025

Published in Women

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Kathy Bates felt "unprotected" while filming Misery.

The actress, 72, was 42 when she played Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's adaptation of the Stephen King novel and propelled to stardom in 1990 thanks to the role, but she has now recalled how her sudden rise to fame as overwhelming and disorienting.

Speaking to Variety, Kathy described herself at the time as "just like a child", adding: "I had no clue. In fact, there's a picture of me getting out of a car wearing a black-lace bib and a white bra underneath - just so tacky!

"I just always felt like it was a nightmare. I just felt so ill-prepared, like a country bumpkin."

Kathy added: "Looking back on those years, I felt unprotected. I didn't know what I was doing. I was a middle-class kid from Memphis, Tennessee, with older parents, and really 20 years behind the times. I didn't know anything about anything, and it haunted me for years."

Director Rob, now 77, once compared Kathy's naivety to the ingenuousness of her character, Annie Wilkes, but the actress said her inexperience lingered beyond that.

At the time of filming Misery, she had been a stage performer for more than two decades, but the hit horror movie marked her first major screen role and immediate ascent to the A-list.

Kathy admitted she also struggled with her next high-profile part in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991.)

She said: "I could have done a really good job with that part, and I didn't do nearly enough."

Kathy also explained she had been distracted by the ongoing Misery publicity tour while simultaneously filming The Road to Mecca.

Despite those doubts, Kathy went on to build an acclaimed career across television and film, appearing in Dolores Claiborne (1995), Titanic (1997), Primary Colors (1998), About Schmidt (2002) and The Waterboy (1998), where she played Mama Boucher.

She also won an Emmy for The Late Shift (1996.)

Reflecting on her work with Kathy in Primary Colors, John Travolta told Variety: "She added a kind of prestige to the whole thing. A dimension that had gravity and color, and it affected all of us.

"When you act with Kathy, you're in a safe zone. And what makes her so exciting is that she's not a predictable actor. 'What will Kathy do with that role? What will she do next?' It's a beautiful anticipation."