The apocalypse has hit Sydney, and it’s lowkey a huge vibe.
Heading to the Entertainment Quarter, I don’t know what to expect, but when I arrive to see the Hoyts cinema transformed to a post-apocalyptic world, I think, ‘Of course they went all out’.
It is season two of Fallout, after all, and one of 2025’s biggest stars is here.
Watch the video above.
The hit Amazon Prime series, adapted from the video game by the same name, has kicked off its Season 2 press tour in Sydney, and this much we can say for sure – they’re not messing around.
Outside the cinema, the ground is covered in sand with eerily dishevelled oil barrels scattered around, some even housing small fire pits.
There’s an old run-down bus and ute, and even Dogmeat has made an appearance (unsure as to whether it was the real Dogmeat from the show or a identical dog, but can confirm it was adorable either way), while a man with a wild musical contraption strapped to him manages to play the drums, banjo and harmonica all at once.
READ MORE: Nicole Kidman gives update on Keith Urban split
READ MORE: ‘Life is so fleeting’: Robert Irwin opens up about losing his dad as a toddler
READ MORE: ‘Wanted it over’: Rebecca Gibney’s devastating private battle
The world is fully built, and as soon as my shoes touch the sand I’m completely immersed in the Fallout universe. So much so that, for just one second, I forget I’m about to meet one of the biggest stars of the year.
As I head inside to the media area on the red carpet, I snap out of my Mojave wasteland trance and come back to real life.
The reason I’m here is to chat to the stars of the show, Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Aaron Moten (Father Stu) and, of course, Walton Goggins (The White Lotus).
Goggins has always been a star, but he absolutely blew up this year with his stellar performance on The White Lotus.
Personally, I became a fan when I first watched Season 1 of Fallout and began a (very successful) campaign to convince everyone I know that, despite the missing nose and weathered appearance, Goggins as The Ghoul was lowkey hot.
Being a Fallout fan – I am talking exclusively about the show here; I make no claims to have ever played the game – I was also bursting with excitement to meet Purnell and Moten.
All the celebrities spotted at the F1 Grand Prix 2025
Would Purnell carry her character Lucy’s cheery disposition in everyday life? And would I be as intimidated by Moten as I think I would by his character, Maximus? Only time would tell.
Then, as I’m stood waiting, I hear a commotion outside.
They’ve arrived.
Goggins is the first on the carpet, and it’s not long before he’s standing in front of me.
Unfortunately, I’d gotten distracted watching him walk down the carpet and charm everyone with charisma and wit, and have ended up a little underprepared when he reaches me.
I introduce myself, awkwardly tell him I like the suit he’s wearing (AKA try to kill time to hide the fact I need to get my camera angle right and start recording), and then we’re off!
I’m immediately a little bit pissed off by Goggins. Not through any fault of his own – just because he’s exactly like I had expected him to be.
Unable to display TikTok on this browser
Charming, confident, and kind; it’s an annoyingly perfect combination of traits for a person to have.
In true Goggins style, he crouches down and flashes the camera a big, cheesy smile before stepping back, ready to answer my two hard-hitting questions:
- If he, Moten and Purnell were transported to the Fallout universe, who would be the first to die?
- What was his first day on set for Season 2 of Fallout like?
**I had a sit-down chat with the stars the next day where I asked them proper questions. I promise there’s a method to the madness**
Goggins informs me he would be the first to die, simply by sacrifice and zero desire to live through an apocalypse, before sharing that he almost ended up being two days late to his first day on set because he got confused about what day he started.
Ah, celebrities, they’re just like us!
I bid Goggins farewell and watch him charm the rest of the carpet, and am quickly greeted by Moten, who is, in fact, not at all intimidating and, honestly, one of the warmest celebrities I’ve met thus far in my career.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Moten also thinks he would be the first to die in an apocalypse, by trying to be more heroic than he is capable of. His first day on set involved completing a stunt, only to be asked if he was wearing a harness afterwards.
Spoiler alert: he was not.
Finally, Purnell walks over to me with an enthusiastic, “Hi, I’m Ella!”
I shake her hand, tell her I’m obsessed with her dress – she says thank you and shakes her skirt to show it has what she refers to as ‘tentacles’ – and ask her the same two questions.
Purnell, however, doesn’t think she’d be the first to die. Instead, she likes to think she, Moten and Goggins would stay out of trouble and find themselves “in a quiet corner of the wasteland, making good coffee”.
So, for those wondering: yes, she is just as optimistic as Lucy.
When it comes to her first day on set, we both get a little sidetracked from the question and end up talking about a French phrase Purnell is pretty sure translates to “eat the frog first”.
”I don’t know, I may have butchered it… in French it probably sounds much sexier than ‘eat the frog’,” she assures me.
Then, just like that, it’s all over. The stars head inside for a Q&A before a preview screening of the first few episodes, and I head back outside to the wasteland.
As I walk back to reality, I’m left with one simple question:
How on earth are they going to get all this sand out of here?
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.