Fallout season 2 will see Lucy’s moral compass “eroding” amid surprising choices, reveals Ella Purnell

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Fallout is a captivating show that’s easy to get lost in – a high-quality, post-apocalyptic story that’s surprisingly enjoyable, and incredibly hard to stop watching. Ironically, while viewers are up late watching Ella Purnell battle mutants and survive dangers as Lucy MacLean, Purnell herself is likely already asleep. The 29-year-old actress jokes that she’s become an early-to-bed type. “I’m in bed by nine,” she says. “I would have never believed that about myself ten years ago, but now all I need is a foam roller and a cup of tea.”

Compared to her energetic performances, Purnell likely needed a break after filming the popular Amazon series Fallout. The show is based on a video game that’s captivated over 50 million players since 1997. The game plunges players into a post-apocalyptic America where they trade, battle mutated creatures, and choose sides in conflicts between different groups of survivors.

Despite all the hype surrounding the Fallout TV series, Ella Purnell received the audition like any other job. She hadn’t played the game before – she hadn’t even heard of it! “I honestly didn’t know much about the project,” she says. “I was so busy filming Yellowjackets that I didn’t even bother to look it up.”

What really drew Ella Purnell to the role wasn’t the popular Fallout universe or its large fanbase, but the character of Lucy MacLean. Lucy is a surprisingly resilient and energetic woman who’s experiencing the outside world for the first time after being raised in an underground bunker. Purnell explained, ‘They described her as someone who could be in a toothpaste ad, but also someone who could be dangerous. That really resonated with me.’

Once she accepted the role, the weight of it all truly hit her. She explained that it wasn’t until she started researching and preparing for the character that she fully grasped the significance of the project and how important it was to do it well.

Let me tell you, the gamble really worked. They took a chance with an entirely fresh story and new characters, completely separate from the games, and it paid off. Season one was a hit with both die-hard fans and newcomers. And Bella Purnell? She’s become a star, practically overnight. The amount of love she’s getting for her incredibly charming performance as Lucy is just fantastic. It’s a really endearing portrayal, and people are responding to it in a big way.

She’s genuinely moved by how much people connect with the character she plays. The character is incredibly innocent, having been sheltered her entire life – she’s never experienced simple things like wind or distant views. The actress loved imagining how amazed the character would be by everyday things that we often take for granted.

Lucy’s upbringing closely mirrors Purnell’s own. Purnell started her career unexpectedly as a baby model in London. A family friend needed a baby for a photoshoot, and her mother playfully offered her. This led to more photoshoots, then commercials, and eventually roles in theatre. By her teens, Purnell had become a successful actor, appearing in films like Kick-Ass 2 and Maleficent.

This setting feels similar to the Vault – both are carefully crafted, fictional worlds separate from everyday life. However, Purnell has a different perspective. She explains, “I actually feel more like a child now than I did growing up.” She finds freedom and playfulness in the moments between filming takes, something she didn’t experience as a child performer. Back then, she was scared, anxious, and unsure of what she was doing.

As an adult, I genuinely care for the people I work with and feel comfortable expressing myself. It’s a supportive environment, and that reminds me of how the character Lucy feels safe and secure within the Vault – she has a role and a routine. But when Lucy steps outside of that familiar world and faces the unknown, that’s exactly how I felt as a young actor – lost and unsure of what was expected of me.

It’s a curious shift. As actress Melanie Purnell has become more well-known – thanks to shows like Yellowjackets, Arcane, and Fallout – she’s intentionally simplified her personal life. She explains that despite her growing career, she’s focused on creating a more grounded and peaceful existence. She still lives in the same home, drives the same car, and cherishes time with her loved ones and hobbies like knitting. This intentional scaling back feels right to her.

I believe sudden fame, like what happened with Justin Bieber, would have been really difficult to handle. I’m grateful that my success took around 20 years to build gradually.

After years of experience, she’s developed a stronger belief that choosing projects she’s passionate about will naturally lead to good work. This has also made her interested in playing complex characters, even those with questionable morals, like Rhiannon, the killer she portrayed in last year’s Sky Atlantic series, Sweetpea.

I tend to prefer clear-cut answers in my personal life, but I find myself fascinated by ambiguity in my work. It’s like a safe space for me to explore those grey areas and get comfortable with uncertainty, which I then try to apply to my everyday life. I especially enjoy creating characters who aren’t simply good or evil – those with complex motivations are much more interesting.

Fallout is an ideal game for truly exploring complex characters and situations. In a world focused on survival, what constitutes a ‘monster’ is often a matter of opinion. For example, the protagonist, Lucy, is portrayed as kind and well-intentioned, but also as somewhat naive, sheltered, and headstrong – a realistic depiction of a person navigating a difficult world, according to Purnell.

What’s ahead for Lucy in season 2? According to Purnell, a lot! Viewers will see unexpected and surprising sides of her character. She starts making questionable choices, and her sense of right and wrong begins to crumble. Everything Lucy once believed is now being challenged, and the season explores how that impacts her as a person.

Ella Purnell jokingly imagines how she’d cope if the world ended. While she’d like to be a resourceful adventurer like Lara Croft, she admits she’s actually quite the opposite – organized, non-confrontational, and a bit of a perfectionist. She laughs, saying she’d probably just focus on organizing everything, and with access to a spreadsheet, she’d take charge and ‘conquer the world’ through meticulous planning.

You can now watch the first season of Fallout on Amazon Prime Video. The second season will begin streaming on Wednesday, December 17th.

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2025-12-03 21:09