Ella Purnell: Don’t think I could have done ‘Fallout’ at the beginning of my career – Exclusive |

‘Fallout‘ ventures into the post-apocalyptic world of the new sci-fi web series and ETimes had the pleasure of sitting down with the talented actress Ella Purnell, who leads the charge in this exhilarating journey. From her early days in Tim Burton‘s film ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ to her recent appearance in Zac Snyder’s zombie film ‘Army of the Dead‘, Ella has traversed various sci-fi landscapes, each shaping her into the performer she is today.Now, as the leading lady of ‘Fallout’, she shares her insights into how her past roles have prepared her for the complexities of her new character, Lucy.
Reflecting on her transition from film to television, Ella lets us in on the challenges and rewards of embracing the episodic format, and her hopes for Lucy’s journey beyond the first season. Before signing off, she also teased tiny deets about the season finale, so read on to know more…

Ella, we’ve all watched you grow up on-screen from ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ to ‘Army of the Dead’, ‘Yellowjackets’ and now as the leading lady in ‘Fallout’. How did working on these action and sci-fi franchises help prepare you for this part?
I truly do think that everything you do, every choice you make, makes you who you are. And, I don’t think I could have done Fallout at the beginning of my career. You have to learn from every experience that you have. I mean, I don’t want to say I’m pinching myself all the time because that sounds like a cliché, but I kind of am. I can’t really believe that I got here. But I feel very happy about it.

You’ve played a range of characters over the years in films and now you could potentially be playing Lucy for years and several seasons. What do you hope for in your run as this character?

TV has its own set of challenges, right? And I grew up doing film. I did my first TV thing when I was 21 and I started when I was 12. At first, I hated it. I hated not knowing. Sometimes you get the script three days before you start filming. And I hated that you just had to sort of jump. And you sign up for 12 years of your life and you’ve only read 30 pages. It’s terrifying.
With ‘Fallout’, I have never once been afraid. I trust the writers. I trust Jonathan (Nolan) with my whole heart. And I have no problem just closing my eyes and jumping because everything they write is so good. Every line is funny, exciting and heartbreaking. And just seeing what they’ve done with Season 1, we’re going to be fine. It’s going to be fun.

‘Fallout’ is an adaptation of a video game, but if there was a movie you wish you could turn into a video game, which one would you pick?
I’ve never been asked that before. And I’ve done two video game adaptations and I’ve never been asked that. You know, in terms of world-building, this is a really basic answer, but I want to look at Harry Potter or something like that, that has years and years and years and years and so much context, so much history. People love it, it has such a built-up fan base and then if they make another movie, but in a video game… Not a video game about the first Harry Potter movie, but Harry Potter 13 or 14 or whatever part we’re up to now.
Wrapping up this interview, what can you tease about the season finale and what can fans possibly expect in Season 2?
Expect the unexpected. You never know. It’s Fallout, baby. Just drop in.
The Amazon Original series ‘Fallout’ stars Ella Purnell in the lead, along with Walton Goggins, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Sarita Choudhury, Michael Emerson, and Moises Arias in pivotal roles. The series based on the video game of the same name, premieres today, April 11, 2024, in English, with dubs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.