The Ghoul’s Fallout Past & “Very Different” Character Change Teased By Walton Goggins

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Fallout season 1.

Fallout star Walton Goggins has explained his approach to playing the very different versions of his character, the Ghoul. Based on the hit videogame franchise from Bethesda Game Studios, Prime Video’s television adaptation is currently attracting glowing reviews following season 1’s recent streaming release. Throughout Fallout season 1, Goggins’ gunslinging mutant is revealed to be a former Hollywood actor, Cooper Howard, who was present during the original nuclear exchange that devastated the planet.

During an interview with Screen Rant, Goggins explained how he approached the pre-war and post-apocalyptic versions of his character and their key differences. Suggesting that while his portrayal of the Ghoul is defined by the character’s need to conserve “energy, and surviving another day,” his former self is a very different person whose experiences audiences are still not completely privy to, despite “there have been hints and suggestions.” Check out his comments below:

They’re just at two very different places in their life. The Ghoul doesn’t move that much, unless he has to. He doesn’t project his voice, he’s not a loud person unless he has to be. It’s all about conserving energy, and surviving another day. Cooper, on the other hand — which you don’t know some of this, about his life, there have been hints and suggestions about what his life was, and it is some of that, and it’s also much more complex than that. He’s just at a different place in his life, he’s a different person. I tried to kind of really think long and hard about how they communicate to each other over time. A sense of humor is one way, and an anger on some level is another way. And a few ways in which I will just leave as a surprise for you.

Will Fallout Season 2 Reveal More Of Cooper Howard’s Backstory?

There Is Still Much To Learn About The Ghoul’s Past

While Prime Video is still yet to officially announce whether there will be a Fallout season 2, recent news of the show receiving a new tax credit from the state of California would point towards its increasing likelihood. As such, it is likely that audiences will still get the chance to learn more about Goggins’ Ghoul and both his pre- and post-war lives. Even though Fallout season 1 provided viewers with multiple hints about the Ghoul’s former life as Cooper Howard, much of the character’s past is still clouded in mystery.

As one of the oldest living creatures in Fallout‘s Wasteland, and an original survivor of the nuclear apocalypse of 2077, viewers are not only keen to learn how Cooper survived the original blasts, but also chart his transformation into the mutant bounty hunter he would eventually become. Moreover, his original introduction as the Ghoul in episode 1 also hinted at a long and dark history with a mysterious character referred to as Dom Pedro.

Buried alive, and repeatedly tortured for years, the Ghoul’s connection to the mysterious Dom Pedro has the potential to inform much of the character’s story in Fallout season 2. Not only would this portion of the character’s backstory potentially serve to flesh out much of the Ghoul’s post-apocalyptic life, but the sheer brutality of Dom Pedro’s treatment suggests the character would also be inclined to give chase and reclaim his former captive. As such, Dom Pedro could potentially join the growing list of threats as a possible Fallout season 2 continues to explore the infamous Wasteland of the original games.