When Fallout returns this December, Prime Video’s hit adaptation will push deeper into the Mojave — through dust storms, irradiated ruins, surreal factions, and the neon-drenched chaos of post-apocalyptic New Vegas. It’s a world beloved by gamers and newly discovered by millions of viewers, a landscape where survival and absurdity constantly collide. And stepping into that wasteland for Season Two is a fresh — yet surprisingly fitting — addition: Macaulay Culkin.
For Culkin, joining the show wasn’t just another acting gig. It was something that immediately felt aligned with his sensibilities. As he told me just minutes into our conversation, “I watched the show, and I really felt like I belonged on the show. I think it was the tone and the sense of humor, just the morbidness of it… I was like, yes, I belong here.”
The timing, he said, felt uncanny. Before the role was ever offered, he’d already been thinking about how naturally he fit into the world’s pitch-black comedy and retrofuturist chaos. So when the call finally came? “It felt just right. It felt like putting on the right pair of pajamas… it’s cozy.”
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While Culkin is stepping into a universe known for intricate lore and sprawling narratives, he was quick to laugh about how little he actually knew while filming. “They keep everything kind of in its own little bubbles,” he explained. “Nobody knows what their part is, what the other part is doing… I didn’t even get my whole scripts. I didn’t even know what’s going on. I’m watching the trailer and I’m like, wow, that looks really cool. I wish I was privy to that.”
For a series as tightly guarded as Fallout, this isn’t surprising — but Culkin found it energizing rather than limiting. The secrecy meant he experienced the world the same way viewers do: with constant discovery. What he did see firsthand left a major impression. “Just being there on set… the meticulous nature of everything, from the wardrobe to the set design. These are people that really love and appreciate this source material, and they’re coming out with that kind of gusto.”
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That craftsmanship is no small detail. Season Two promises an even more ambitious scope — exploring a fractured Mojave, introducing new factions, and expanding the violent, eccentric, deeply human tapestry the franchise is known for. Produced by Kilter Films with executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, alongside Fallout game legend Todd Howard, the series remains rooted in what made the games iconic: the collision of optimism and ruin, humour and horror.
It’s this tonal blend — the gleeful weirdness and blunt brutality — that Culkin connected to immediately.
From fan to character, without the fanboy energy
Culkin’s affection for the show might have helped him understand its rhythm, but he made it clear he wasn’t bringing that fandom onto the set. “When it’s time for me to work, I work,” he said plainly. “I wasn’t gonna walk into it trying to be a giddy kind of like, ‘Oh gee whiz, golly gee.’ No. I’m here to do my part… to find it.”
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Jumping into a project mid-stream is always challenging, but doing that inside a pre-existing universe with its own rules, tone, and established characters adds a new layer of complexity. Culkin compared it to a familiar social scenario: “It’s being like the new kid at a new school… you want to catch up. You don’t want to rock the boat too much either.”
But what the role required — and the world demanded — clicked almost instantly for him. Even without the full script, even without a full map of how his character fits into the sprawling ensemble, the instinctive sense that he belonged there carried him.
A character with mystery—and menace
While Culkin wouldn’t reveal any specifics about who he plays — and the studio remains tightly guarded on spoilers — he’s clearly excited about the character’s potential. “I think he’s kind of fun. I think there’s some kind of spookiness to him… I feel like we’re only starting to scratch the surface of the kinds of things that, whether it’s his history or the things that he’s capable of. I think he’s quite a scary, freaky kind of character, and I would like to play with that.”
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That blend of playful and eerie feels right at home in Fallout, a world where the absurd often lives next door to the horrifying. And Culkin’s comedic instincts — sharpened over decades but often under-recognized — mesh naturally with the franchise’s brand of dark satire.
Of course, he’s equally at peace with the opposite outcome.
“They could just shoot me in the neck with an arrow, and I’d be fine with that too,” he joked.
It’s hard to imagine a more Fallout response.
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The magic in the madness
With an ensemble already stacked with talents like Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, Kyle MacLachlan, and Moisés Arias, Season Two is primed to expand the complexity and chaos that made Season One a surprise hit. And Culkin, stepping into that chaos, found himself energized by the collaborative unpredictability of television.
“You work with different directors. You have to figure out your language within this sphere, especially something that’s already established,” he explained. “I’m jumping in mid-stride on a show that’s piling on top of [a pre-existing universe].” But that challenge — that sense of entering a world already in motion — is part of what made the experience feel so natural.
Before the role was even real, Culkin already saw himself in it. “I really felt like I belonged on the show,” he said again toward the end of our conversation, almost as though the sentiment surprised even him. “When I got that knock on my door… yeah, it felt just right.”
What Culkin hopes fans take away
When asked what he hopes viewers walk away thinking after watching him in the role, Culkin didn’t miss a beat: “Gee whiz. They should have him back for multiple seasons afterward, and give him his own spinoff and everything.”
Then he laughed and shifted gears. But underneath the humour was real affection for the character and what he might become as the story deepens. Fans may not know him yet — but Culkin’s convinced there’s more to uncover.
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A long-awaited return to chaos, comedy, and character
For longtime fans of Fallout, the arrival of Season Two promises new lore, new landscapes, and new personalities emerging from the Mojave dust. For Macaulay Culkin, it marks a return to the kind of offbeat, darkly funny world he thrives in — and one he immediately recognized as a creative home.
Whether his character becomes a fan favourite, a fear-inducing wildcard, or a brief but unforgettable casualty of the wasteland, Culkin is approaching the whole thing with curiosity, humor, and respect for the world he now inhabits.
And as for how much he knows about what’s coming next?
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Well — your guess is as good as his.
“I’m actually going to be as surprised as the audience… I didn’t even get my whole scripts.”
In the wasteland, that feels like the perfect place to start.
