Fallout Star Reveals They Had a Panic Attack While Wearing Power Armor

Image: Lorenzo Sisti/Prime Video

The creative team behind Prime Video’s Fallout leans on physical props and hands-on effects to sell its devastated landscape — chief among them the imposing Brotherhood of Steel power armor. Those hulking suits, remnants of the prewar world, play a major part in the show’s visual identity. Many cast members have suited up for season 2, and Polygon spoke with several of them about the experience ahead of the show’s season 2 premiere on December 17, 2025. The armor itself is a standout piece of craftsmanship.

Aaron Moten

Role: Brotherhood of Steel knight Maximus

Moten describes the suit as extremely heavy — roughly in the tens of pounds — and plainly uncomfortable. He wears the upper portion with a motorized helmet, which adds bulk and complexity. Navigating the practical challenges of getting into and out of the rig is one of the role’s biggest hurdles, he says, but the payoff is the dramatic presence the armor imparts: when a character in power armor moves through a crowd, people instinctively give way, and that visible status becomes part of the performance.

Kyle MacLachlan

Role: Vault 33 overseer Hank MacLean

MacLachlan says the armor grew noticeably heavier in season 2 — whether from added components or simply the cumulative effect of wearing it, he’s not certain. The suit is tightly secured to the performer, he explains, leaving little opportunity for comfort or basic movements; simple actions like scratching an itch require assistance. Despite the constraints and a mild sense of claustrophobia, he finds the experience exhilarating because the armor conveys an authentic feeling of authority and power.

Walton Goggins

Role: Cooper Howard and The Ghoul

Goggins recalls extreme claustrophobia the first time he tried on the armor, describing a panic response after roughly half an hour. He found the restriction of movement and sensory confinement much more intense than wearing extensive prosthetics. For him, the experience was physically and mentally taxing — so much so that he needed the costume removed immediately.

On the flip side, Goggins notes that the makeup process for The Ghoul — which takes about two and a half hours to apply and then requires long days in prosthetics — becomes an integral part of becoming the character. The costume, makeup, and wardrobe collectively shape the performance: once those elements are in place, the movement, voice, and presence follow. For him, surrendering to that transformation is essential to inhabiting The Ghoul.

Fallout season 2 premieres on Prime Video on December 17, 2025. New episodes release weekly on Wednesdays through February 4, 2026.

Source: Polygon