Ratched stars Sarah Paulson and Sharon Stone on women empowerment and more

Ratched stars Sarah Paulson and Sharon Stone talk women empowerment

During a video press conference with the cast of Ratched on Netflix, Sarah Paulson and Sharon Stone expressed how much they loved working on the series and how it made them feel very empowered.

The eight-episode series premieres on Netflix on Sept. 18 and follows a young Mildred Ratched getting hired at an asylum hospital, where the psychological adventures first begin. Film fans may remember the popular character from the movie One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, based on the novel of the same name by Ken Kesey. Netflix’s horror-drama serves as a prequel.

How does filming Ratched differ from other Ryan Murphy projects for Sarah Paulson? What did Sharon Stone appreciate most while working on Ratched? The ladies of the upcoming series chat about this and more.

Sarah Paulson talks Ratched and working with Ryan Murphy

Here’s what Sarah Paulson said about how working on Ratched stood out from the various other times she’s worked with Ryan Murphy:

“This was different for me because he [Ryan Murphy] was very very interested in empowering me in this way that I have never experience before,” Paulson explains. “I have never played a titular character before, I’ve never owned a piece of a show before, I have never been an executive producer of a show before. And it is all because of him.”

That’s right, Paulson is one of the executive producers of this project! We can’t wait to see in what ways Paulson’s magic touch made the series even better.

Despite not having a lot of experience being behind the camera, Paulson appreciates how much Murphy wanted her involved in the series from the very beginning.

“He wanted my input,” Paulson warmingly comments. “He would send me cuts and say to me, ‘what do you think?’ It was an interesting experience to think beyond my own narrow view of just my own performance and think about the show in the whole and what the story was.”

Sharon Stone shares Sarah Paulson’s appreciation for Ratched

It was interesting listening to Sharon Stone chat about how vastly different filming Ratched was than other projects.

The actress discussed in detail how far Hollywood has come since her early days in acting, and she thanks Ryan Murphy for being part of the change.

“It [the experience] was mind-blowing… I understood what a spectacular producer Sarah is. I have such pride for…you [Paulson],” Stone tells Paulson. “In my generation, I wasn’t afforded this possibility… If I had wanted to do something, what would happen would be that I would get a real talking to.”

Stone further explains, “If I had any thoughts or ideas, I could get called to the studio and get a real discussion about what my problem is.”

Stone’s early projects consisted of her working with mostly men. “Even my hairdresser was a man,” she shares. But Ratched was surrounded by a lot of women and diversity.

“To go to work where women are being empowered and offered opportunities…it’s just a different thing! And I’m just so grateful for it. It was so touching to me and so meaningful,” Stone shares.

Sarah Paulson on Mildred Ratched

It goes without saying that Mildred Ratched has become one of Paulson’s favorite characters to bring to life. And only someone with Paulson’s talents could have knocked it out of the park the way she did.

Anyone can play a character, but not everyone can do it well, and Paulson carefully studied Mildred before taking on the role.

“I think it’s safe to say that many people are familiar, if not well-versed, with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest the movie and Louise Fletcher’s performance and the iconography that was sketched by everybody in the movie,” Paulson says. “I think she’s [Mildred Ratched] in the top 5 AFI villains of all time in cinematic history.”

“I remember when I first saw the movie thinking that she was absolutely the villain and evil and all this stuff,” Paulson said. “And then when I re-watched it before we started, I thought, she’s the victim of patriarchal infrastructure in this hospital.”

What will you think about Mildred Ratched? Stream the horror drama to find out! Ratched premieres on Netflix on Sept. 18.