Fallout star says her character Lucy is the most brilliantly unhinged combo: "Leslie Knope meets Ned Flanders" and someone who can "also kill you"

If you’ve already started the Fallout TV show, you’ll know Ella Purnell’s Vault Dweller Lucy is a little more complex than her okie-dokie demeanor would have you believe.

In fact, it’s that harder edge – which develops throughout the Prime Video series – that drew Purnell to the role.

"For me, it was when they told me Lucy was someone who could star in a toothpaste commercial and could also kill you, and she was a mixture of Leslie Knope and Ned Flanders. And I was like, ‘Got it. Absolutely sign me up. I’m in," Purnell, who also voices Jinx in Arcane, tells GamesRadar+ of how Fallout was pitched to her.

On Lucy’s time up in the wasteland, in search of her Overseer father Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), Parnell adds: "With Lucy, I think it ignites something. I think it lights this flame in her where she just becomes resilient. It’s all inside her somewhere, she just has to access it. Does it go too far? Does she learn to adapt to find the answer? I don’t know. You’ll have to watch the show to find out!"

Fallout, starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins, is now streaming on Prime Video. For more from the series, check out our explainers, guides, and cast interviews below:

• The Fallout TV show went the extra mile – by creating a real-life Pip-Boy for its cast to use
• Fallout TV show stars and creators on working with Todd Howard: "It means a lot to get his approval"
• Fallout TV show star Walton Goggins intentionally chose not to play Fallout, even after getting the job
• Fallout cast watched Twitch and YouTube streams of the games before filming: "Watching people play was vital"
• Fallout season 1 review: "A big Vault Boy-style thumbs up"
• Is the Fallout TV show canon? Here’s what Bethesda’s Todd Howard and the showrunners have to say
• When does the Fallout TV show take place on the series timeline?
• Will there be a Fallout season 2?