Movies & TVFalloutThe Fallout show’s Lucy was described to Ella Purnell as a ‘Leslie Knope/Ned Flanders-type’ who would ‘star in a toothpaste commercial but could also kill you’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Movies & TVFalloutThe Fallout show’s Lucy was described to Ella Purnell as a ‘Leslie Knope/Ned Flanders-type’ who would ‘star in a toothpaste commercial but could also kill you’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Prime TV)
TheFallout show’s naive Vault-dweller Lucy strikes me as a tricky character to pull off—too wide-eyed and it’s just annoying—but actor Ella Purnell artfully balances her performance on the edge between dopiness and competence. I think she responded very successfully to the description that sold her on the part, which was roughly ‘Ned Flanders, but with a violent edge.’
In an Amazon Q&A, Purnell said she was aware of the Fallout games because her friends and brothers played them, and when the show’s executive producers described Lucy to her, she was instantly on board. “I’m in. I am 100 percent in. Sign me up,” she recalls telling them.
The way Fallout’s producers described Lucy to her was as “someone who would star in a toothpaste commercial but could also kill you” and “a Leslie Knope/Ned Flanders-type, but with something kind of dangerous lurking there.”
“I felt like, ‘Okay, I could do this, I could do this,'” said Purnell. “Sometimes you just know, you kind of feel it in your body. But even so, it was such a surprise that I got the part. I couldn’t believe how lucky I got.”
The same goes for the other leads, who likewise experience conflict between their naive models of the world and the world itself. Brotherhood of Steel soldier Maximus is in some ways a typical underdog, but breaks the mold with selfish and sadistic behavior that makes you question how committed he really is to the chivalrous life he aspires to.
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(Image credit: Prime TV)
As the before-and-after duo Cooper Howard and The Ghoul, crowd favorite Walton Goggins delivers the most typical arc of the three, I think, as he evolves from complacent nice guy to disillusioned cutthroat. According to Goggins, The Ghoul is the toughest son of a gun he’s played.
“I’ve played a lot of bad-asses over the course of my career, none as badass as The Ghoul,” he said. “He’s a pretty intimidating guy, but I had never played someone like Cooper Howard, so I watched a lot of Gary Cooper, a lot of John Wayne, a lot of Gunsmoke and I watched a lot of interviews.
“The video that we have from that time, people that populated the screen were well-spoken and gregarious, but also reserved and a little conservative, not just politically, but just the way in which they expressed themselves, they were regal. And I thought, ‘Okay, yeah, that’s Cooper. He’s part of the greatest generation.'”
More about movies tvThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12See more latest►
More about movies tvThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12See more latest►
More about movies tvThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
More about movies tv
The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April
The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April
Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12See more latest►
Latest
Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12
Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12
Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12
See more latest►
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Most PopularToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilLords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its gamesEpic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo videoSquare Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fansThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsPath of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better lootPalestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 NakbaPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene
Most Popular
Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11
The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April
Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’
If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video
Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans
The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements
Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot
Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba
Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’
Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene
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