Prime Video Original series Fallout is bringing the world of Bethesda’s iconic franchise to life. Only, it’s not adapting the story directly. Instead, it’s building out the world of Fallout, and with that comes new characters like The Ghoul, also known as Cooper Howard, played by Walton Goggins.
New to the world of Fallout, Goggins broke down what it was like to join such an prolific franchise and to add to its legacy. Goggins said, “[Cooper] is gonna ask you questions [that are] based on building these people from the inside out… So, for me, I feel that the best thing I could do for the fans of this game is to make the Ghoul as three-dimensional as humanly possible. Right?” And that complexity is clear from the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode that we got a chance to see at the SXSW Fallout event, where this interview took place.
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In the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode, we stumble on Cooper Howard entertaining a party with his daughter. It’s the before times. Before the bombs drop, before “The End.” He isn’t the Ghoul just yet. We know that he will be a renowned bounty hunter in the Wasteland, but for now, he’s just a dad. Like all of Goggin’s roles, The Ghoul is no different; the renowned character actor has worked to build him out with the help of the game franchise’s creators and developers.
Goggins added, “I got into [the game], and I met the people involved. [I] saw the world that they were creating, that’s when it hit me. And I thought, oh, yeah, we’re gonna go very, very, very deep. And now, on the other side of it, what a privilege… My son’s a big gamer, and just to be involved with something so passionate to so many people and to feel like I’m with a group of people that executed that vision, and it was at the forefront of their thinking through the entire process.”
While Goggins is building the Ghoul inside and out, he’s also trusting the vision of showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner who have spoken at length about their love of the Fallout games and dedication to getting everything just right.
Walton Goggins added that the attention to detail in the Fallout TV series was clear. He said, “[I have seen] the attention to detail and the corner that has gone into this both in front of and behind the camera, from the very bottom to the very top. It has been executed with such love, such reverence, and respect for the place that this game holds in people’s hearts.”
Sure, the series may not only have existing fans in mind, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t paying homage to the memories we have all made with one of gaming’s most prolific franchises.
You can read our interview with the Fallout showrunners from SXSW here.
