Walton Goggins has been enjoying success in Hollywood for a long time now. His career stretches back to the early 1990s when he did single episodes of shows like JAG and had supporting roles in movies like The Next Karate Kid, and he now stands out as a prominent character actor and TV star. As far as fame is concerned, however, his role on the Prime Video series Fallout has taken his status to a whole new level, and he has a story that perfectly illustrates that fact.
Shows like Justified and The Righteous Gemstones may have substantial followings, but Walton Goggins has found that Fallout is its own thing – judging by how often he is now being recognized in public. His performance as the Ghoul in the excellent video game adaptation has very much struck a chord with people, as he recently explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Said Goggins,
I’ve been fortunate to get stopped in public for not really one thing but a variety of projects over the years. Then, all of a sudden, people were talking about Fallout more than anything else.
Continuing, the actor acknowledged that there was one particular day in recent months when he fully recognized the impact of Fallout. While on a trip abroad with his family, he not only had multiple people come up to him recognizing him from the streaming series, but multiple people from multiple countries:
There was a moment when I was walking down the street with my wife and my son in Istanbul, where within the span of a block, someone from Iraq who was there on vacation came up, someone from Syria came up, and someone from Kurdistan came up. We were walking and eating baklava after having a glass of wine at a restaurant, then there were these three encounters, one right after another. We all looked at each other with such love in our hearts and had long conversations.
Given his undead like appearance, The Ghoul on Fallout is perhaps an unlikely target of fan adulation, but one could argue that the love for the character extends from the tremendous work done by Walton Goggins. He is a ruthless sonofabitch, operating as a bounty hunter in a postapocalyptic wasteland, but he has a soul, and one can't help but admire his skill and swagger. In Goggins' words, he is a very complicated guy.
Walton Goggins has expressed fear about reprising his role for Fallout Season 2 and the prospect of returning to the makeup chair, but hopefully his energy will be buoyed by the great public affection for his character. The show has not just inspired pockets of fandom, but earned love from TV viewers around the globe. He told the magazine,
We did something that is reaching across countries. It’s breaking down those barriers and becoming something that people are sharing in. At this stage of my life, I’m grateful to be a part of it.
So what exactly is it about The Ghoul on Fallout that makes him so compelling? According to the show's co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet, at least part of the love extends from audiences loving to see a character be as skilled and efficient as he is – despite the fact that what he is doing is nasty business. Said the filmmaker,
A studio head once called it ‘competency porn’ to me. People want to see characters who are good at what they’re doing. That, to me, is the true delight of the Ghoul. It’s so awesome to see [Walton Goggins] be so good at this...even if it’s killing.
Following the debut of Fallout Season 1 this past spring, work on Fallout Season 2 is underway with some new additions to the talented cast including Macaulay Culkin. We don't yet know when new episodes will premiere, but stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates about the series and perhaps make some time to rewatch the first run of the show with your Amazon Prime subscription.
