Actor Walton Goggins is no stranger to Westerns. The Justified alum has not only been a recurring actor in the neo-Western genre, but the actor has also starred in other films of the genre such as The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained. He continues his streak of playing antagonists with the upcoming TV show Fallout.
Goggins plays the role of The Ghoul in Jonathan Nolan’s adaptation of the popular video game. He plays a bounty hunter who has been exposed to heavy amounts of radiation due to the nuclear war and hence has a mutated appearance. Goggins mentioned how he had a terribly crazy experience while filming due to the loneliness brought on by the character’s appearance.
Walton Goggins As The Ghoul In Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout
Walton Goggins appears as his normal, familiar self in the latest trailer of the Amazon Prime Video series Fallout. An adaptation of the popular video game, the show is set in a post-apocalyptic alternate world where a nuclear war has left the surface uninhabitable. The show follows the protagonist Lucy, who has lived all her life in underground bunkers called the Vault, as she goes to the surface to explore.
Goggins stars as Cooper Howard, who is hinted at being a spokesman for the company which builds the Vaults. However, he becomes the primary antagonist named The Ghoul, a radioactively mutated bounty hunter who is a threat to Lucy. The trailer shows the actor hunting down the Vault-dweller as she begins to unravel many mysteries of the surface.
In an interview with Den of Geek, Walton Goggins mentioned how grateful he was for having his nose back as his distinct look in the series shows him being mutated due to radiation poisoning, making him nose-less. He said,
“I’ve gotta be honest with you. The one thing I’m more grateful for than anything in my life right now is my nose. I give it so much love, I look at it every day, especially after that trailer that was released. Thank God I have a nose.”
The Ghouls are the central and most recognizable aspect of the original games. While they are zombie-esque figures, they are also known to be among human settlements and some still have their human personalities intact, like Goggins’ Cooper Howard.
Walton Goggins Had A Lonely Time On The Sets Of Fallout
Judging by the trailer, Walton Goggins seems to have the potential to be Fallout’s breakout star. Positioning him as a bounty-hunting gunslinger in a Western-esque setting seems to have appealed to fans, who are reacting to the show more positively. However, despite the potential glory of the character, Goggins mentioned how the experience of filming with prosthetics drove him crazy.
He mentioned to Den of Geek how he had to spend hours on set with his mutated makeup, which made him feel a bit lonely as not a lot of people were comfortable being around him with his look. The actor said,
“I didn’t anticipate how lonely it would be for me as the Ghoul. It was a process. When I first walked out of the trailer, people either couldn’t take their eyes off you or didn’t want to look at you at all. I felt very closed in that experience. I was just alone inside of this guy’s head.”
Goggins mentioned how it took some time for him to adjust to how the character walked or spoke as The Ghoul, after which he was more at ease while performing. The actor also mentioned that the creators had crafted the Western-esque setting for the story in an organic way and that there was a reason for it.
