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“Even as we understand him to the antagonist”: Jonathan Nolan Reveals Walton Goggins’ Fallout Role is More Than What Meets the Eye That Will Surprise Fans

The upcoming Fallout series is set to be the next big and ambitious show for Amazon. The executive producers on the show are Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, who created the hit HBO series Westworld. Amazon’s Fallout promises to continue the trend of successful video game adaptations after The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Ella Purnell plays Lucy in Amazon's Fallout
Ella Purnell plays Lucy in Amazon’s Fallout

The show has a stacked cast led by Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins. The latter plays a Ghoul,  a popular character from the Fallout games. From the trailers, it seemed like Goggins would be a purely antagonistic character. However, it seems the charter will have a three-dimensional treatment as teased by Nolan.

Walton Goggins’ Ghoul Will Have A Far More Significant Role in Fallout Than Fans Believe

Walton Goggins' Ghoul will play an integral role in Fallout according to Jonathan Nolan
Walton Goggins’ Ghoul will play an integral role in Fallout according to Jonathan Nolan

Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell are gearing up for the release of their upcoming series Fallout, based on the popular video game of the same name. The promotional material and trailers teased that Goggins’ Ghoul will have an antagonistic presence in the film. As Ghouls are outcasts in the games, it also possibly signaled that his character might be separated from the main players of the series.

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However, Jonathan Nolan, the executive producer of the show teased that Goggin’s’ character will be so much more than a simple bounty hunter/antagonist in the series. He stated that he will be the guide to the past even though he is perceived as an antagonist in the present. Nolan also made sure that Goggins’ prosthetics did not hide his emotions and face-acting. He told Vanity Fair,

“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. 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.”

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This is great news as it confirms that the Ghoul will not be presented as a stereotypical moustache-twirling villain. Character depth and Goggins’ performance will ensure that the Ghoul is elevated into a much more interesting character. It remains to be seen how the makers present Ghoul in the series when it premieres on Amazon Prime.

Walton Goggins Teases His Ghoul Is Drastically Different From The Games

Walton Goggins teases an exciting new Ghoul for Amazon's Fallout
Walton Goggins is presenting an exciting new Ghoul for Amazon’s Fallout

Walton Goggins is playing the Ghoul in the upcoming Amazon series Fallout. The actor seems to be taking a very unique approach to the character and wants to differentiate it from the Fallout games. Goggins told the CCXP audience last year that the Ghoul is a new entity in the series who is a ruthless bounty hunter.

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He further revealed that even though his character is cynical in the present day, he was not always that way. He teased an exciting backstory for the character, who was previously known by the name Cooper Howard. He said (via Comicbook.com),

“He’s not a ghoul from the game. He’s kind of a new entity. He’s been around for 200 years walking the Wasteland. He survived the nuclear war. He is a bounty hunter. He is as ruthless as they come. Pragmatic. He’s a rascal. He’s got a wicked sense of humor. He’s cynical, but he wasn’t always that way. And he has a name – his name is Cooper Howard. I can’t go into really anything more than that, but you’ll see the difference between the two.”

In addition to Goggins, the series also stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Leslie Uggams, Mike Doyle, and many others. All eight episodes of Fallout will premiere on Amazon Prime on April 11, 2024.