Fallout: Season 2: Justin Theroux on Finding the Voice of 'Broken' Idealist and Villain Robert House

Fallout: Season 2 explores the backstory of however movie prima and Vault-Tec pitchman Cooper Howard (played by Walton Goggins) went to Las Vegas earlier the warfare and met the antheral who helium aboriginal tells Lucy MacLean was the main origin of the extremity of the world: Robert House.

As seen successful the trailer, House recognizes the acheronian lurking wrong Coop that volition 1 time devour him arsenic The Ghoul. House deems Coop “actually rather a convulsive man” who would bash thing to support his family. “You conscionable don’t privation to termination maine … yet.” It seems past that the archetypal steps of Coop’s tragic translation into The Ghoul begins with his interactions with Mr. House.

Fans archetypal saw Mr. House successful live-action successful Season 1 of the deed Prime Video bid wherever the tech magnate was played by histrion Rafi Silver. The Leftovers prima Justin Theroux takes implicit the relation for the show’s 2nd season, lending the RobCo Industries laminitis a much urbane gravitas than the quality we met successful the archetypal season.

I precocious chatted with Justin Theroux implicit Zoom astir Fallout: Season 2, his peculiar mentation of Robert House, and the choices helium made successful bringing this iconic video crippled quality to life. (Editor’s note: This interrogation has been edited for clarity.)

Justin Theroux arsenic Robert House successful Fallout: Season 2.

IGN: What was that archetypal speech and the large hook for you to privation to bash Fallout?

Justin Theroux: I've been friends with Walton for a agelong clip and helium was benignant of the 1 that they deputized to springiness maine the part. So helium called maine and conscionable was like, "Hey, I deliberation we're going to connection you this portion and I'd truly emotion for you to bash it." And helium told maine a small spot astir it, which I was like, "I don't cognize what you're talking about." Meaning it was truthful dense, what helium was describing. But the existent tendency to privation to bash it came erstwhile I started talking to Jonah and Geneva and Graham and wrapping my arms astir what the quality was, what helium was like. And that each these delicious scenes betwixt maine and Walton were going to instrumentality place, which was truly conscionable truthful exciting.

And past conscionable my ain small tick database of rules for what it takes for maine to privation to bash a quality were each benignant of ticked, interesting, has a beginning, mediate and an end. I conjecture ostensibly he's a villain, but I don't truly deliberation of him that way. But it was conscionable the accidental to play a genius. It's similar playing Sherlock Holmes oregon Mycroft Holmes oregon playing those kinds of characters that are admittedly acold brighter than I americium successful this portion of the satellite oregon successful this genre are truly amusive characters to play. And past truly conscionable each small country that maine and Walton had was this delicious small 1 enactment that we would get to play, and it was conscionable truly amusive days astatine work.

IGN: I privation to property you connected you accidental you don't truly deliberation of him arsenic a villain. Who is Robert House then, successful your estimation, and what is his worldview maybe?

Justin Theroux: I mean, I deliberation you could gully comparisons to each kinds of people, existent billionaires arsenic to what their worldview is. And I deliberation I tin besides measurement retired of maine loving the quality capable to cognize that helium is, of course, a villain. But villains, of course, each villains don't deliberation they're villains. They deliberation they're unthinkable radical that are trying to prevention humanity and the world, but their wires got crossed somewhere. I mean, adjacent the Unabomber thought that helium was a patriot. And I deliberation there's a small spot of that successful House successful that he's trying to socially technologist the extremity of the world.

And helium thinks that what he's astir apt doing is bully for humanity writ large, to shingle the Etch A Sketch and commencement the satellite implicit again. And obviously, we arsenic an audience, person the accidental to spot what the shaking of that Etch A Sketch does. But I deliberation he's an idealist, a breached one. And I deliberation immoderate it is, he's surely connected immoderate spectrum of conscionable reasoning that he's being helpful. And he's successful that incredibly weird epoch of having truthful overmuch wealth and truthful overmuch powerfulness that helium gets to dainty the satellite arsenic his play thing. And again, I'll fto you gully your ain comparisons arsenic to who those radical could beryllium successful our existent world.

IGN: Obviously, it's nary concealed that Howard Hughes is simply a large power there. I cognize the quality successful the crippled has a akin voice, but I wanted to speech to you astir coming up with the dependable for House. I cognize you played him precocious [in White House Plumbers], but I did perceive a small spot of the cadence of the existent satellite G. Gordon Liddy.

Justin Theroux: Yeah, Liddy was a small much comical, I guess, oregon bluish collar oregon something, and was a small much enactment on. Liddy himself, I think, studied connection successful bid to spot himself successful that benignant of taxation bracket. But it's not a incorrect comparison. I thought House would person a akin benignant of impact wherever the infinitesimal you perceive his voice, he's enactment himself supra you truthful that helium wants to found – and that was conscionable arsenic an histrion wanting to enactment connected the quality – I wanted to found a dependable that – and it's done truthful beautifully successful the archetypal scene, due to the fact that of people I'm playing other this moving people Joe. So the infinitesimal you perceive House tube up, you cognize that a antithetic aerial has entered the room. And I truly similar that due to the fact that it makes whoever he's talking to look tiny successful a cruel way.

IGN: That's a truly absorbing mode to presumption it. It's conscionable different limb successful his arsenal, really.

Justin Theroux: Yeah, and I've known radical similar that. It's similar erstwhile you speech to idiosyncratic with a precocious RP English accent, you instantly consciousness like, "Oh, I don't merit to beryllium present due to the fact that royalty seemingly is here."

IGN: In the game, House's happening is helium wants to unrecorded forever, which to maine that suggests idiosyncratic – I wouldn't privation to outlive each the radical that I emotion – that benignant of suggests possibly Robert House doesn't emotion anybody oregon cipher loves him.

Justin Theroux: I don't spot arsenic idiosyncratic who looks astatine photos of his grandchildren and gets a teardrop successful his eye, I don't deliberation he's that benignant of guy. I deliberation it's a overmuch much megalomaniacal, ego-driven happening to privation to unrecorded forever. And interestingly, successful the game, helium doesn't truly privation to sphere his body, helium truly wants to sphere his ideas and his mind. And everyone successful the satellite wants to person immoderate benignant of a legacy, but I deliberation his surely doesn't impact children oregon that benignant of thing. And I deliberation the subordinate wants to halt with him, wants to beryllium pulling the strings. I mean, it's the full happening of surviving forever. It's like, I don't privation to unrecorded everlastingly if my encephalon falls apart. You cognize what I mean? Or if my bodily functions autumn apart, I deliberation I'll beryllium acceptable to go. But he, interestingly, conscionable preserves his ideology.

IGN: Did you delve into the crippled astatine each erstwhile you got the role?

Justin Theroux: Yeah, I watched a small spot of gameplay circumstantial to New Vegas online. And past I retrieve playing the archetypal 1 erstwhile it came retired a agelong clip ago, but I truly had to usage the scripts arsenic my touchstone for everything that was going to happen. Watching the gameplay wasn't arsenic adjuvant arsenic you mightiness think. It was adjuvant conscionable to recognize the satellite and intellectually get it, but the histrion who played him successful the crippled [René Auberjonois] did a fantastic occupation and was truthful circumstantial and good.

And I surely didn't privation to bash an impersonation of that due to the fact that I thought that would conscionable consciousness astir a disservice to the enactment that that histrion had done. And this was besides successful New Vegas oregon play two, it was the archetypal clip we were truly seeing him not connected a screen, soma and blood. So I knew helium had to person a physicality to him and each that enactment had to hap distant from the game. I had to fig retired a mode to transportation myself, yeah.

Fallout: Season 2 launches connected Prime Video connected December 17.

For much coverage, find retired erstwhile fans tin expect Fallout: Season 3 to statesman filming, wherefore Walton Goggins isn’t funny successful playing the Fallout games, and wherefore Fallout Season 2 takes the 'fog of warfare approach' to debar making immoderate New Vegas ending canon.