Full spoilers follow for Fallout‘s first four episodes.
The cast of the Fallout TV show have opened up on the “physically tough” challenge of shooting the Prime Video’s latest TV hit.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten, who play Lucy and Maximus in the post-apocalyptic series, revealed that they were pushed to the limit during the months-long shoot. Indeed, Fallout‘s TV adaptation saw the duo shoot in locations ranging from chilly sound stages in New York to scorching settings on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. With Purnell and Moten also shooting 14 to 15 hour days on occasion, it’s easy to see why the pair consider Amazon‘s live-action take on Bethesda’s iconic videogames to be the hardest project of their lives.
Considering the amount of physically demanding sequences they had to film, it might have been difficult for Purnell and Moten to pick out one specific scene as the one that challenged them the most. Surprisingly, though, they didn’t have to think too hard when I asked them if there was one sequence that put them through the physical wringer.
The apocalypse? Sign us the hell up! All episodes of FALLOUT are available now!!! pic.twitter.com/YsKjrVSVgKApril 11, 2024
“That scene in episode 3,” Purnell immediately responded. “It’s the second time where Lucy meets The Ghoul [played by Walton Goggins] after she’s lost the head of Siggi Wilzig [played by Michael Emerson] to the Gulper, which she needs to rescue her kidnapped father. The Ghoul, who also wants Wilzig’s head, uses her as bait to get it back.
“That one was physically tough – mostly because of the amount of times I was dunked in the water! The whole nature of the scene was difficult, of course. Having to say my lines, screaming at the top of my lungs, then getting dunked and having to hold my breath, and trying not to get waterboarded. All of that, plus the obvious in-universe radiation poisoning and the giant Gulper monster… yeah, it wasn’t your average day at the office.”
As for Moten, episode 2’s hilarious, action-packed Western stand-off sequence in the town of Filly was the most taxing one to shoot. The reason? By that point, Maximus is wearing Fallout‘s iconic T-60 power armor suit, which he “acquired” after he lets the Brotherhood of Steel knight – who Maximus squired for – die after a fatal Yao Guai encounter earlier that episode. And, as Moten points out, while the armor itself was lightweight in its design, it wasn’t exactly suitable clothing for filming during hot days on set.
“It’s the junkyard scene,” Moten said. “That was physically challenging because it was a full day shoot in sweltering heat. But, at the same time, you’re trying to hold that tension [between Maximus and The Ghoul]. You’re trying not to melt inside this giant costume while also trying to maintain that suspense.
“You know, he’s also after Wilzig’s head and, when we started creating this character, I got really stuck Cassius, the antagonist of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. His ambition is described as being like a hungry dog, and that’s a description that fits Maximus perfectly. So, really trying to sustain that individual purpose and intent on hot days in the armor was really challenging.”
Prime Video‘s Fallout adaptation is out now – and, whether you’re a fan of the games or not, it’s a TV show you don’t want to miss on one of the world’s best streaming services. In my review of Fallout season 1‘s first four episodes, I called it “an ambitious, prestige-flavored adaptation that brings one of gaming’s most iconic series to life with a highly satisfying blend of source material devotion and narrative originality”. In short: it’s one of the best Prime Video shows of all-time.
Before you leave, be sure to read more from my exclusive chats with Fallout‘s cast, the show’s creator Jonathan Nolan, and Bethesda boss Todd Howard below.
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