Full spoilers ahead ahead Fallout‘s first four episodes.
The cast of the Fallout TV shows have begun the “physically demanding” challenge of taking on Prime Video’s latest TV hit.
Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten, who play Lucy and Maximus in the post-apocalyptic series, exclusively revealed to Ny Breaking that they were pushed to their limits during the months-long shoot. Indeed, FalloutIn the TV version of the series, the duo filmed in locations ranging from chilly sound stages in New York to scorching environments on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. Since Purnell and Moten also occasionally shoot 14- to 15-hour days, it’s easy to see why the pair consider Amazon’s live-action version of Bethesda’s iconic video games to be the most difficult project of their lives.
Given the amount of physically demanding sequences they had to film, it may have been difficult for Purnell and Moten to pick one specific scene that challenged them most. But surprisingly, they didn’t have to think too much when I asked them if there was one sequence that put them through the physical wringer.
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“That scene in episode 3,” Purnell responded immediately. “It’s the second time Lucy meets The Ghoul (played by Walton Goggins) after losing the head of Siggi Wilzig (played by Michael Emerson) to the Gulper, who needs them to save her kidnapped father. The Ghoul, who also wants Wilzig’s head, uses her as bait to get it back.
“It was physically demanding – especially because of the number of times I was submerged in the water! The whole nature of the scene was obviously difficult. I had to say my lines, scream at the top of my lungs and then be submerged and have to hold my breath and having to try not to get waterboarded. All 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 to film. The reason? At that moment Maximus is carrying Fallout‘s iconic T-60 power armor suit, which he “acquired” after leaving the Brotherhood of Steel knight – whom Maximus was looking for – to die following a fatal Yao Guai encounter earlier that episode. And, as Moten notes, while the armor itself was lightweight, it wasn’t exactly suitable clothing for filming during hot days on set.
“It’s the junkyard scene,” Moten said. “That was a physical challenge because it was an all-day shoot in sweltering heat. But at the same time you’re trying to maintain that tension (between Maximus and The Ghoul). You’re trying not to melt in this gigantic costume while at the same time I’m try to maintain tension.
“You know, he’s also after Wilzig’s head and when we started creating this character, I really got stuck with Cassius, the antagonist of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. His ambition is described as a hungry dog, and that is a description that fits Maximus perfectly. So it was really a challenge to keep that individual goal and intention in the harness on hot days.”
Prime Videos Fallout The adaptation is out now – and whether you’re a fan of the games or not, it’s a TV show you won’t want to miss on one of the world’s best streaming services. In my review of Fallout In the first four episodes of Season 1, I called it “an ambitious, prestige-flavored adaptation that brings one of gaming’s most iconic series to life with a deeply satisfying mix of dedication to source material and narrative originality.” In short, it’s one of the best Prime Video shows of all time.
Before you go, read more of my exclusive chats with Fallout‘s cast, show creator Jonathan Nolan and Bethesda boss Todd Howard below.