Who Plays Dr. Fairburn in ‘Wednesday’? Fans Spot ‘Westworld’ Star in Willow Hill Scenes

There’s a whole list of new faces in Wednesday’s Nevermore Academy and the Willow Hill Hospital, though not many get to live till the rest of the second season’s episodes released on September 3.

One of those is Dr. Fairburn, the chief psychiatrist at the Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital who in the show is portrayed by British actress Thandiwe Newton.

The latter is also known for roles in movies like Mission: Impossible 2 and Crash, as well as for the role of Maeve Millay in HBO’s dystopian sci-fi western series Westworld.

However, Newton also has a famous daughter, actress Nico Parker who starred as Sarah Miller in The Last of Us’ season 1 and Astrid Hofferson in 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon.

‘Wednesday’ Fans Say Dr. Fairburn’s Death in Season 2 “Genuinely Felt Unnecessary”

Since it was revealed that Dr. Fairburn had no part in the evil plans that others were plotting at the Willow Hill, some were shocked by how quickly the character was killed off, even though her knowledge about all the outcast inmates there could have been a great help for Wednesday’s investigation.

“Dr Fairburn was such a fun character, I feel like her death was an unnecessary addition and added nothing to the plot. Just felt like killing off a character for a flashy ending”, Redditor ArtificialBush complained in a thread.

“Thandiwe Newton is such a GREAT actor & they legit wasted her imo. She was the best part of Westworld even after it went off the deep end plot-wise. She’s got the acting chops, but was barely part of the story”, mjrn-moonheart agreed.

However, others also noted that Wednesday is all about outcasts and not about normal people, which is why the show is doing just fine by killing off human characters.

“I think one of the things that makes this show so great is doing the opposite. The cynical deadpan lead, the celebration of being an "outcast", the way the show has encountered popular tropes and flipped them on their head”, Constant-Jacket5143 commented.

‘Wednesday’ Creators Lured Everyone Into Thinking That Dr. Fairburn Is “the Bad Guy”

Newton’s character might have acted suspicious right until the episode 4 finale, but she was proved innocent when her seemingly harmless assistant Judi stepped onto the scene.

Such a delusion was something that Wednesday’s creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar planned all along, aiming at keeping the show’s suspense at the level as high as possible.

“One of the challenges of the show is constructing a compelling mystery. We love the idea of leading the audience down the path and thinking that Dr. Fairburn is the bad guy”, Millar said in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum ahead of the release of the second season’s first part.

Wednesday’s season 2 volume 2 is coming to Netflix on September 3.