Ella Purnell does not bother tackling online reactions to Fallout: 'My job is to make this character real' | Interview

Ella Purnell, star of Fallout, talks about season 2 of the show, her role, and the online reactions to the popular show.

For a long time, it was said that massive modern video games cannot be faithfully adapted to the screen. Many came close before The Last Of Us hit the nail right on the head. Jonathan Nolan’s Fallout followed in its footsteps and also earned acclaim. But even as the shows earned praise, many OG fans - the gamers - were not completely satisfied. However, for Fallout’s lead, Ella Purnell, those reactions are out of her control. In a chat with HT on the sidelines of the show’s Asia premiere, the actor talks about her character, the show, and feedback.

Ella Purnell plays Lucy in Fallout.(Pic: Amazon Prime Video)

Ella Purnell on Fallout season 2

We meet Ella a day after the premiere of Fallout season 2 in Tokyo, a few days before the first episode releases on Amazon Prime Video. The second sees Ella’s Lucy in search of her father, Hank, who was revealed to be a not-so-good guy in the season one finale. Despite the father-daughter relationship being at the core of the show, Ella and Kyla MacLachlan (who plays Hank) have hardly shot together. The actor says it does help her performance.

“It works for the character, because I'm holding on to the memories we made in episode one of season one, when we're cycling and the thing and eating dinner together, and when we have our first dance and Lucy's getting married. We had a fantastic time filming those scenes. Kyle and I didn't know each other before we started this job, and so that was us getting to know each other, and it was so sweet,” says the actor.

‘I don't tackle online reactions’

Reactions to Season 1 were largely positive, but there were a few trolls who targeted the actors, including Ella. However, the British actor has learnt not to give all that undue importance. “To be honest, I don't tackle that,” she says matter-of-factly, adding, “What can I do? I don't spend a lot of time on the internet, and my job is to make these characters that I play as truthful as I can and to make them as similar to real-life humans as I can. And the rest of it is sort of out of my control.”

Ella says she has faith in the show’s writing team, directors, and the rest of the crew to give the fans a great show. “We have incredible writers, producers, and creators. Every single person worked so hard on this show. You know, Legacy Effects. They built all the death clubs. They built the suits. We have incredible heads of departments, our costume, our hair and makeup, our set design, our locations. Every single person has put all that they have into the show. And for myself and for my friends who work really hard on it, I hope that that pays off, and I hope that people enjoy it, but it's not my job to tackle whatever else is coming up. I just feel very lucky to be a small part of this incredible franchise,” she adds.

The actor does have a message for the hardcore fans of the show. Season 2 is filled with Easter eggs for the games, she reveals. “I hope the Easter eggs are enough for you to, if not love the show, then at least watch it,” she says with a smile.

About Fallout season 2

Fallout season 2 brings back the original cast of Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins. The first episode will premiere on Prime Video on December 17, 2025, with the remaining episodes released weekly through February 4, 2026.