Here's How Lizzy Caplan Scored the Part of Annie Wilkes in Castle Rock

Annie Wilkes is one of Stephen King's most memorable villains, previously brought to life in an Academy Award-winning performance by Kathy Bates in Misery, setting the expectations high for Lizzy Caplan for the role in Castle Rock. When showrunner Dustin Thomason decided that Wilkes would be a key component of Season Two of the series, the stars had clearly aligned in regards to who would bring the character to life, as Caplan had previously expressed her admiration for the series before she knew there would even be an opportunity to join the project, giving Thomason the perfect candidate for the job. Season Two of Castle Rock premieres on Hulu on October 23rd.

"When [co-creator] Sam [Shaw] and I first talked about the show, the idea, before Season One even, of doing an Annie Wilkes origin story always felt like one of the most exciting things and chapters to fill in," Thomason shared with ComicBook.com. "In a way, we had been thinking about it for a long time. And then, actually, I don't know if anyone knows this, but Lizzy, during Season One, emailed Sam to tell him that she was really enthusiastic about the show, because they had worked together on something else. And so, in a way, I think the conversation began all the way back during Season One, at least in our minds."

In Season Two, a feud between warring clans comes to a boil when budding psychopath Annie Wilkes (Lizzy Caplan), Stephen King's nurse from hell, gets waylaid in Castle Rock. While the first season of the series focused more on characters on the outskirts of King's iconic Maine town, this season puts iconic characters and locations at the forefront of an all-new story.

Thomason continued, "When I started thinking about Season Two as the Annie Wilkes origin story that we had been trying to tell all along, Lizzy was the first name that came to the forefront. I guess it was a happy accident, and it was maybe in a story about a woman who is a big fan, it was fun to cast somebody who was actually a fan of Season One without having any connection to it."

Castle Rock Season Two will premiere on Hulu on October 23rd.

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