Steven Prusakowski
When I learned there going to be another series based on a video game, this time an adaptation of the hit post-apocalyptic/retro-futuristic game series Fallout, I must admit I was leerily optimistic. I simply could not give the idea my thumbs up. Early last year The Last of Us proved that in the right hands a series based on a video game could be done right, especially if the focus remained on the characters and story. The problem is, video game adaptations have a history which is sketchy at best.
Once I did a little more research into the new Prime Video series, all my worries were quickly quelled. It only took two words to change my tone from cynically nervous to incredibly optimistic. Those two words hit like a bomb, Walton Goggins. The actor has been delivering astounding performances for decades on series like Justified, The Righteous Gemstones, and of course as Shane on a series that helped transform the face of television, The Shield.
Goggins’ involvement was enough to convince me to watch. Just like every role he takes on, he puts everything into this work. So much so, even under layers of prosthetics that make him unrecognizable, the humanity of his character explodes onto the screen. While Goggins certainly does not disappoint, her is also in good company, surrounded with a long list of stellar names like: Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Michael Emerson (Evil, LOST), Zach Cherry (Severance), Matt Berry (What We Do In the Shadows), Aaron Moten (Disjointed) and even director/executive producer Jonathan Nolan (Westworld).
Be warned, my conversation with Walton starts with some mild spoilers – which, knowing that the series is set in a post-apocalyptic world you may have guessed already. If you have guessed or not, the opening moments are gripping television, of which the aftershocks are felt throughout the series and in Goggins’ performance. If you have not seen the series or played the game yet, I would consider watching the first episode before proceeding. The power of his words and the weight they carry will land with more impact after viewing. It was a brief conversation, but one even he was surprised we tackled with the time provided.
Steven Prusakowski: Let me start by saying, first of all, your work as Shane on The Shield is one of the most haunting performances I have ever witnessed, and I’ve witnessed a lot. I mean, how many years later are we from when it aired? And it still guts me. It’s amazing work.
Walton Goggins: Thank you, really, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you very much for saying that.
Steven Prusakowski: Let’s fast forward to Fallout, which has some haunting elements of its own in very different ways. As a dad of two girls, one thing that really hit me was the opening scene. It was just a terrifying, terrifying gut punch. Not to spoil too much, but I was wondering, how much of that trauma from that day carries on with your character 200 years later, as we meet a very different version of him again later in the series?
Walton Goggins: That sets it all up, man. That is one of the most important scenes in this whole experience for me. I didn’t know it was going to be that when we set out to film it. That was the very first day I played Cooper Howard, right? So it was just a matter of, okay, I’ve gone from this insular world to, okay he’s opening up. We play with time on this show a lot in this story. I can’t tell you literally where this happens, where that happens over the course of this experience. But what I didn’t anticipate was how visceral it was going to be for me.
I didn’t anticipate that I was going to be given the privilege of experiencing this cataclysmic, fucking horrific moment for all of humanity, because it’s only through his point of view that you see this. When I was there working that day, and I realized that this young person right there next to me, being a father, thinking about a fucking traffic accident or whatever that is – what you experienced with your child is terrifying. And we’ve all experienced that on whatever level with our children and something that’s relatively benign. But when you insert this, it was just too much, man. I couldn’t, I didn’t know how to fucking handle it. I felt like you did watching that scene. That’s what it was like seeing those bombs drop for the first time, knowing that life has changed and I have to protect this child.
Steven Prusakowski: Yes, it’s so powerful. I was going to watch the series with my daughter. She started playing the video game with me recently, which does not land with the same emotional impact but has dark post apocalyptic imagery which I have become kind of numb to over the years.
But as we started to play, she saw the burned out landscape and asked a couple of questions that really hit hard, “What happened to this place? Why does it look like this?” And as I’m about to answer then I paused thinking, ‘Man, this is terrifying stuff!’, realizing I probably shouldn’t even explain it. It will terrify her. Then I started the series and was still considering having her watch with me until those opening moments just felt too happy and I saw words “The End” appear on the screen and I was like, ‘Okay, no, you’re not watching this.’ And thank God I did because I would have traumatized her, because it traumatized me. It’s like I said with your work as Shane, it sticks with you. It’s haunting stuff.
Walton Goggins: What a big conversation – what a big moment with your daughter. You know, it’s just wonderful. We all have them all the time as parents and something that you’ll never forget. It’s great.
Steven Prusakowski: Yes although I did send her out of the room.
Walton Goggins: Yeah, I know. But still, the moment of you having that decision, you make that decision and you ask her to leave because it wasn’t the time. I’m sure this conversation will come up. It came up with my son who’s 13, six months ago. And he had a lot of anxiety around nuclear weapons. It’s been in the conversation a lot. And we fucking had it, this is all of it, this is history.
Steven Prusakowski: My eldest wanted to watch Oppenheimer and I kind of wanted her to because she loves science. At the same time, she’s a smart kid who may be able to process it, but I thought, maybe just let her be a kid a few years longer, then we can dip into the more adult conversations.
Time is short, so I wanted to touch upon a less heavy subject, your amazing transformation. I was wondering, in addition to the makeup you have this incredible costume -you go from a good dad to visually kind of a nightmare. What is it like when you put that on and you see yourself. How does the weight of what’s behind it transform you as an actor and to take on this character?
Walton Goggins: Well, it made it easier, really. I live in my imagination, man. I just enjoy the process of trying to figure out who these people are, and trying to be as honest as I can anyway. By putting the stuff on, as uncomfortable as it was and as difficult as it was, the process of getting used to even talking with it on or moving with it on, the work that went into building this piece, the work that went into creating this look by Amy Westcott – once you put it on, all of a sudden, the rest of it is easy. It’s just a matter of going through it.
It’s difficult emotionally, but the mannerisms, everything is informed by everything that you have on and that’s kind of the alchemy of all of it, right? It’s something that you can’t really convey, you know, and you can’t communicate what happens kind of in that moment, but it does make it easier.
Steven Prusakowski: I’m out of time, so let me finish with an simple question that could be very revealing. Three words to describe your character.
Walton Goggins: Which one?
Steven Prusakowski: How about both?
Walton Goggins: Cooper… he’s loyal, kind, and has a wicked sense of humor.
Steven Prusakowski: That works. And the Ghoul?
Walton Goggins: The Ghoul… cynical, loquacious, and a wicked sense of humor.
Steven Prusakowski: I love it. Thank you so much for your time and hopefully we can talk about this again in the future because five minutes is not enough. Especially after your career of work, it’s been a joy to watch you. So thank you.
Walton Goggins: Thank you so, so much. We’ll pick this conversation up again in the future.
You can watch Walton Goggins as the entire eight-episode season of Fallout premieres tonight on Prime Video. It’s a blast!
Comments
Loading…