Walton Goggins has been trending among fans on social media with his slick performance as the Ghoul in the first season of Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout. Anyone privy to his works like The Shield, Justified, and The Righteous Gemstones may agree that Goggins’ recognition comes a little late in his career. The Hateful Eight actor plays a disfigured post-apocalyptic character in Fallout. However, he teased his very different pre-apocalyptic form in an interview.
Goggins plays the Ghoul, the antagonist to Ella Purnell’s Lucy, in the series. In his life before the nuclear apocalypse of 2077, the Ghoul was revealed to be a former Hollywood actor by the name Cooper Howard. This version may make an appearance in further seasons of the show.
Walton Goggins Teases His Pre-Apocalyptic Form In Fallout
Fallout was created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner for Amazon Prime Video based on Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic game series of the same name. Jonathan Nolan served as the executive producer and directed three episodes of this series, which has been receiving great reviews from critics and audiences alike. One actor who captured fans’ hearts with his performance in the series was Walton Goggins.
In an interview with ScreenRant, the Ant-Man and the Wasp actor shared that he took two different approaches to understanding and portraying the pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic versions of his character. While Cooper Howard was a lovable protagonist pre-2077, his Ghoul version is an antagonist who thinks about himself above all else.
Goggins explained that the Ghoul doesn’t move much as he is all about conserving energy and surviving every day. The gun-slinging mutant has certain powers that he gained during the nuclear radiation. He has managed to avoid turning into a feral creature with the help of a proper diet and drugs and by choosing ultra-violence.
On the other hand, Goggins shared that Howard was a much more complex character who was at a different place in his life. The Invincible voice actor shared that the series has dropped hints and suggestions about his other form, which was left largely unexplored in the first season. Goggins shared with ScreenRant:
“They’re just at two very different places in their life. The Ghoul doesn’t move that much, unless he has to. He doesn’t project his voice, he’s not a loud person unless he has to be. It’s all about conserving energy, and surviving another day. Cooper, on the other hand — which you don’t know some of this, about his life, there have been hints and suggestions about what his life was, and it is some of that, and it’s also much more complex than that. He’s just at a different place in his life, he’s a different person.”
Fans can’t wait enough to see Goggins perform as the pre-apocalyptic Hollywood actor in the retro-futuristic world of Fallout. While a second season is not announced yet, fans really hope that the glowing reviews won’t be left unnoticed by the Amazon MGM Studios.
Walton Goggins Promises To Surprise With Cooper Howard And Ghoul
Walton Goggins took his time to figure out how both the characters would have communicated to each other. Goggins explained that he tried using a sense of humor and later some level of anger to effectively communicate between the Ghoul and Cooper Howard. He promised that his few other methods would leave the audience surprised after season 1 and it looks like he’s already delivering on those promises. Goggins shared with ScreenRant:
“I tried to kind of really think long and hard about how they communicate to each other over time. A sense of humor is one way, and an anger on some level is another way. And a few ways in which I will just leave as a surprise for you.”
Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the game series, will co-produce the film with Kilter Films. Ella Purnell takes on the lead role of Lucy, a young Vault Dweller. Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moises Arias, and Xelia Mendes-Jones play the other crucial roles in the series.
Fallout premiered on Prime Video on April 10, 2024.
