Walton Goggins and all his friends

Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Justin Theroux were just seen at LAX together. This is the cast of Fallout, season two premieres on Prime on December 17, and they were at CCXP this weekend in São Paulo to promote it. There will probably be a few more promotional events, including the LA premiere, in the coming days. 

I interviewed all four of them in Brazil for ETALK and that footage will air on our show this week. We were there in a group that included several Canadian media outlets and afterwards all of us talked about the vibe between Walton and Justin. Before I get to that though, Walton was just nominated this morning for a Golden Globe in the supporting category for his performance in The White Lotus. The show was not a factor for Critics Choice nominations last week but the Screen Actors Guild (now The Actors awards – stupid name) is still in play since the show was not eligible by the time of nominations last year. 

What’s interesting, though, is that Walton is no longer in the White Lotus album cycle. He said as much in his recent interview with GQ published a few weeks ago:

“Then this morning he woke up—after “carrying the weight of this guy and his prolonged sadness for so long,” during and after The White Lotus—and he “looked in a mirror and said, ‘Hello, Walton, nice to meet you.’ ”

You’d finally let go of Rick.

“Gone,” Goggins confirms. “I went over to the bathroom, washed my face, and I looked at myself. I was like, Oh, there you are. Good to meet you. Where do you go from here? What is the next adventure?”

The next adventure is Fallout and his general energy seems to be different from what we saw last year during The White Lotus run. He is having a LOT of fun as The Ghoul aka Cooper Howard in Fallout. And in a series like this, based on a video game, and the fanbase that it attracts. Walton Goggins really enjoyed being part of the nerd con. And doing it with one of his friends. 

Walton and Justin (who joins Fallout as Mr House) have known each other a long time but this is their first time acting together. So once again Walton’s on a hit show with a buddy. Last time it was The White Lotus and Sam Rockwell. This time it’s Walton and Justin. And it’s a lovefest. They already kissed on stage a few months ago at the Webby Awards which now seems like a preview of what we’re seeing on this press tour. The two are paired up for interviews and they’ve been talking a lot about the flow of their scenes together, how they match up, how delicious it was as actors to be able to “chew the scenery”. And all of us at the junket shared the observation that there was a lot of touching – one would put his hand on the other, tap a knee, nudge shoulders. Not yet to “holding space” finger holding levels but, I mean, if we’re looking for two people to fill that void now that Cynthia and Ariana, temporarily, have receded from the spotlight, Walton and Justin are here to help. If you’re looking for more insight on Walton in particular, let me know in the mailbag thread at The Squawk, I can answer any questions in Friday’s column. 

For now, a word on Walton’s travel outfit. I’ve just made the flight from Toronto to São Paulo and back, both redeyes, just over ten hours each way. And it’s often the same for Los Angeles and São Paulo, one or two hours longer. It’s a f-cking haul. And Walton’s in a suit. I know he’s flying business or first but even with the lie-back seats, you don’t want to be in a suit. Do we think he changed in the lounge? Or do we think he’s the kind of dude who can keep a suit looking so fresh even after that long?