Since last week we have been able to wander through the end-time world of the Fallout universe on Amazon Prime. There are some shady characters hanging around here, but none are as scary as the one played by Walton Goggins Cooper Howard aka the ghoul. He looks like he’s one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Cowboy hat, ammunition belt and a rifle: Anyone who runs into the ghoul in the Fallout series better flee quickly. It’s just that it’s hard to look away, because one detail is the same hypnotizing and disturbing: The hole in his face where a nose should be.
The Ghoul in Fallout: Walton Goggins explains how the villain’s makeup and nose were created
Villains with strange noses have been a tradition in the pop culture canon since Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. fallout takes the whole thing to the extreme and lets us literally look into the abyss of an evil figure. The ghoul carries the darkness directly on its face.
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Walton Goggins as Cooper Howard aka The Ghoul in Fallout
Since the release of the first season on Amazon Prime, many fans of the sci-fi series have been wondering whether the ghoul’s missing nose is due to amazing make-up or precise computer effects. In an interview with The Wrap, actor Walton Goggins explains: The missing nose is CGIeverything else is real.
In fact, the ghoul’s look was planned for nine months before it was finalized for series use. There were various options considered – among other things, the question of how much CGI should be used in the design. Also exciting: The ghoul couldn’t scare the audience off too much.
Walton Goggins says:
[Der Ghul] should be attractive so that the audience does not feel repelled by this terrible disfigurement. We wanted them to be themselves lean forward and look at his face. Once we agreed, designed [Prosthetic-Designer] Vincent Van Dyk pieces that were very thin but very sturdy, so I could still be myself underneath and experience my own facial reactions – and [das Kamerateam] that could film everything. Thanks to the ghoul makeup, Walton Goggins was able to watch a lot of westerns during Fallout
Not all elements of the ghoul look made it into the series. Goggins reveals that she is in the meantime also tried contact lenses. In the end, these were too distracting, so they were deleted again. It took a total of three attempts until the final version of the ghoul was in front of the camera.
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However, one major hurdle still had to be overcome beforehand: the make-up process of the mask. Jake Garber, the head of the department, initially took five (!) hoursto get Goggins in shape. Later, the process became more routine, requiring only an hour and 45 minutes.
Goggins recalls:
I couldn’t close my eyes. I had to sit in one place the whole time. So i have just put on a western and researched. [Jake Garber] became so good at it [das Make-up zu machen]that I said, ‘Man, you need to take a little more time,’ because some of the movies we were watching were two and a half hours long.
Now we can’t wait to see whether Goggins will take on the iconic role again in the future. Although the 2nd season of Fallout still not officially ordered is, the chances are very good that the series will continue on Amazon Prime.
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When does Fallout Season 2 start on Amazon Prime Video?
It is very likely that Fallout will be renewed for a second season. Most recently, the filming of the new episodes has already received a tax break in California. However, it is currently unclear when the second season will arrive on Amazon Prime not yet assessed. We will probably have to wait one to two years.