Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: fiona dourif, noah wyle, The Pitt

The Pitt Star Fiona Dourif Blames Noah Wyle For "Witch's Cackle"

The Pitt star Fiona Dourif points the finger at co-star Noah Wyle for adding that "witch's cackle" line about her laugh into the script.

Published Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:37:13 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

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Article Summary

Fiona Dourif reveals her distinctive "witch's cackle" laugh was scripted into The Pitt by Noah Wyle.
Dourif describes her embarrassment over her real-life loud laugh being used for her character Dr. McKay.
The "witch's cackle" moment was inspired by comments Dourif receives off-screen about her memorable laugh.
Dourif details the vulnerability and truth behind portraying authentic moments for women in The Pitt.

Fiona Dourif addressed a topic that has come up in The Pitt, blaming Noah Wyle for the "witch's cackle" she has had to endure on the show. In an exclusive interview with People, in the script for the third episode of season two, titled "9:00 A.M.," there's a patient who flirts with Dr. Cassie McKay (Dourif), to which they end up complimenting her "pretty bird laugh," to which she responds, "Oh god, my witch's cackle." According to Dourif, that was added by the episode's writer, Wyle.

The Pitt Star Fiona Dourif Blames Noah Wyle For "Witch's Cackle" — Image: HBO Max

The Pitt: Noah Wyle Responsible For Fiona Dourif's "Witch's Cackle"

According to Dourif in the interview, she said, "That's my real laugh. I have a really loud laugh that I actually find quite embarrassing. […] Noah Wyle wrote that episode and I remember reading it and being like, 'Oh my god.' […] People say this to me all the time. They're like, 'Oh, I can always figure out where you are because I can hear your laugh from doors down.' And so they wrote it into the script. […] There are a lot of women who are focused on work, and then you get to middle age, like in your 40s, and you want to fill your life out a little bit. It's vulnerable and harder to do than when you're in your 20s. I felt very bashful myself in a lot of these scenes. But it was sweet to take that twirl. I was happy the show explored that with me."

: Image: HBO Max

: Image: HBO Max

Starring Wyle as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, the critically acclaimed HBO Max series The Pitt offers a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today's America through the lens of frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh. Each episode follows an hour of Dr. Robby's (Wyle) 15-hour shift as the chief attendant in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center's emergency department. Tracy Ifeachor (Dr. Collins), Patrick Ball (Dr. Langdon), Katherine LaNasa (Dana Evans), Supriya Ganesh (Dr. Mohan), Fiona Dourif (Dr. McKay), Taylor Dearden (Dr. King), Isa Briones (Dr. Santos), Gerran Howell (Dennis Whitaker), and Shabana Azeez (Victoria Javadi) also starred in the first season.