Fallout is an upcoming post-apocalyptic drama series based on the popular video game franchise of the same name. It revolves around a group of survivors in the aftermath of a deadly nuclear war. In the series, actor Walton Goggins plays the role of the Ghoul, a mutated gunslinger who traverses the wastelands.
Given the nature of the ghouls in the games, particularly their deformed appearance, it is surprising that Goggins does not boast any extensive prosthetics. In a recent interview, executive producer Jonathan Nolan, who also directed the first three episodes, opened up about Goggins’ casting in the role and why the actor features minimal makeup. Here is everything Nolan revealed about Goggins’ Ghoul in Fallout.
Jonathan Nolan Reveals the Reason Behind Walton Goggins’ Minimal Makeup in Fallout
In the Fallout video game series, currently under the ownership of Bethesda, ghouls are humans who have mutated due to their overexposure to radiation caused by the aftermath of a nuclear war. Ghouls are usually defined by their deformed and decrepit physical appearance.
In the television adaptation, actor Walton Goggins plays the role of the Ghoul / Cooper Howard, a gunslinger and bounty hunter. However, despite his character’s deformed appearance, Goggins’ face is still mostly visible. In an interview with Vanity Fair, executive producer Jonathan Nolan explained why Goggins’ face isn’t buried under prosthetics and makeup.
“You have to be extremely careful with it when you’re putting a full appliance on someone’s face because you hired that actor for a reason. Their face is their instrument. [You want] the tiny little expressions and changes that they make.”
Nolan made the above statement revealing the creative team used less makeup and made Goggins appear less ghoulish so that the actor’s performance would not be hindered. However, Nolan also noted that the prosthetics still made Goggins sweat profusely while filming.
Jonathan Nolan Explains Walton Goggins’ Extensive Role in Fallout
In the original game franchise, ghouls are not prominent characters, but that seems to have changed while adapting the source material. The live-action television series will see Walton Goggins’ Ghoul have an extensive role to play.
In the same interview, Nolan shed some light on Ghoul’s narrative purpose. The Westworld co-creator said:
“He becomes our guide and our protagonist in that [older] world, even as we understand him to be the antagonist at the end of the world.”
Nolan also added that despite being a mutated ghoul, some aspect of his human form, Cooper Howard, remains intact in the character. As a result, Nolan was interested in exploring the history of the Ghoul, particularly the events and circumstances that led to his transformation from Cooper Howard into a mutated gunslinger and bounty hunter.
Aside from Goggins, Fallout will also star Ella Purnell as Lucy, a young girl who leaves the Vault to venture into the Wasteland, and Aaron Moten as Maximus, a squire of a religious military order. The series was created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, with the first season consisting of eight episodes.
Fallout will premiere on April 11, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video.
