MISERY CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

ANNIE WILKES:  Plays 40’s/50’s. Annie is a former nurse and self-described “novelist Paul Sheldon’s Number One Fan.”  She saves Paul’s life, then keeps him prisoner in her house.  She is in a complex mental state (to say the least).  At times, she can seem quite charming, but it does not take long to see that she is sadomasochistic; obsessive; paranoid; manipulative, and suicidal. She has very low self-esteem, and suffers extreme bouts of depression and self-harm.

PAUL SHELDON:  Plays 40’s/50’s.  To novelist Paul Sheldon, the “Misery Chastain” novels he writes are just a way to pay the bills, so he can work on his “real” writing.  At the outset, he is an irresponsible and arrogant jerk—a selfish blowhard, an overblown son-of-a-bitch with delusions of grandeur.  As the play proceeds, he develops a dose of humility as well as an unexpected will to live.

SHERIFF (BUSTER):  Plays 30’s to 60.  Buster is a Colorado “country” sheriff.  He is a kind, albeit somewhat naïve lawman who, while searching for the missing novelist Paul Sheldon, stops by Annie Wilkes’ house, unaware of Paul’s captivity within.  Buster is a slightly gullible character, easily swayed by Annie’s façade of a concerned fan.  He visits Annie’s house multiple times, hoping she might have seen something of the missing Sheldon.