The Cast Of Fallout On The Show's Second Season & Why It's Got Something For Everyone

It’s always a great time in Sydney but this isn’t about that.

No two press junkets are the same though it’s not about that either.

What it’s about is the reason why I was there and how much fun it all turned out to be.

When Amazon Prime Video invited me for the Australian Special Screening of Fallout Season Two, I wasn’t quite aware of the show’s popularity in India. Sure, the post-apocalyptic drama is one of the streamer’s most successful shows across the world but in India, where their other shows are usually being talked about, was Fallout truly that big of a deal? Turns out, absolutely. Everyone from my friends and acquaintances to people on the internet have all been waiting for the show’s new season to drop. Probably why they invited me to Sydney, you know? I’m glad I did because apart from attending that screening, I also got to watch the first two episodes of the show’s second season way before most of the world – and they’re so, so good!

But what was unarguably the best part was getting to sit down with the show’s lead cast – Ella Purnell, Walton Higgins and Aaron Moten – to talk about it all, just for you, my readers. Let’s get to it, then.

Hi, I'm Saurav from Esquire India. And I've taken a really long flight to get here only because this show is such a rage back in India!

Ella: That's so kind. That's really sweet.

What does it take to make a show that’s going to be viewed across the world? Do you guys do anything differently?

Walton: It doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the world. And over the course of the last year and a half, we've gotten to meet so many members of this community. Furthermore, what we've tried to do in architecting this show—making it an original story in the canon of Fallout—is to expand that audience.

Like myself, I've never played the game. But I'm obsessed with this story because at its heart, it's a character-driven story that takes place in the world of Fallout. So I think the global component, if you will, has brought this community together. And we're just trying to service that, honour that, and are grateful to be a part of it.

Speaking of this second season, totally enjoyed the first two episodes. When you're picking up a character that you have played before and you come back to it after some time, having done other work since—is it any different? Is it harder? Do you approach it absolutely like a new character?

Ella: I think for me—I don't want to speak for these guys—I have all the nerves leading up to it, thinking I'm not going to remember how to do it and how to play her. And then as soon as I put that vault suit on and I see all of these familiar faces, and working with Walton and Aaron again, it feels like coming home. It feels like seeing an old friend again. One of these guys said that, and I really relate to it. I think that's definitely accurate.

Walton: I'm sure that was me—because it was poetic. Because it was eloquent.

Aaron: I think it can feel like having to climb a mountain again. That's how you have to approach every script—one step at a time. You can only deal with the problems right in front of you. The characters are developing. They're always changing. They're growing. We're never really repeating things. We are not the person we were two weeks ago.

It's not linear, but there's always something new added, and I think it enhances it. I come from theatre, and I really believe you can't go too deep with something. It's living with you always. What you see in the world influences you. If anything, it's difficult to talk about previous work because I feel like I'm always evolving. I'm always somewhere else—even now.

Walton: I've been in this medium for a really long time, and I say that with humility but also pride. I've kept coming back to television. I've been in this game for 25 years, and I keep coming back to this format because I find great comfort in this linear version of storytelling over an extended period of time. It feels like coming home for me—something I can pick up right where I left off. It's like getting the opportunity to read Dostoevsky and then being interrupted by Hemingway, but knowing you can always return to this very long novel. That's how I've lived my life, and it's what I derive the most pleasure from.

Do any of you ever feel like, because the show has so much going on, that a small nuance you add to a scene or performance might get missed by audiences? It's such a sensory overload—action, sets, creatures—does that ever worry you, or is it just in service of the show?

Ella: I would say it's a show you can keep watching again and again. I've seen season one a million times, and every time I watch it, I notice new things—whether it's an Easter egg from the game, another layer in Aaron or Walton's performance, or the way one syllable in a line deepens your understanding of a character. Every costume, every prop—there's so much to uncover. There's something for everyone every time.

Walton: If you watch season one again, you'll realise what the writers have done. These are very long, uninterrupted scenes that give time and space for thought and behaviour. For a show this big and cinematic, often it's just about regurgitating dialogue and moving on. That's not what we're doing. We're exploring this world and taking the time to think and feel. We've been given that latitude, and they've edited it accordingly. I'm on fire today, gentlemen!

Incredible. Thank you so much for your time, and I can't wait to watch the rest of the show.