Cooper Howard is the ultimate villain. The Fallout antagonist is not just bad, he’s also sad. The actor-turned-wasteland-bounty-hunter is a richly drawn character from actor Walton Goggins, the VFX and writing team, and costume designer Amy Wescott (Black Swan). They all tell a story of a man that’s murkier than pure villainy.
Before the apocalypse says hello to the world, Howard is a well-known western star. When he’s not donning cowboy attire or his spiffy suits, Goggins and Westcott looked to The Duke for inspiration. “Actually, it was a lot of seeing what was happening with John Wayne on his off time,” Westcott told Immersive. “That was a big influence on us. If we found a picture of John Wayne on his off time — which is hard to find, by the way — it was always a point of reference.”
Since the series plays with time aesthetically, it’s fitting Westcott mixed the Wayne influence with a slightly hipper movie star presence. “We were trying for that sort of Steve McQueen meets John Wayne quality,” she added, “because it was sort of an old school cowboy, but he had to be super cool. Walton brings that cool to the table in a big way, so that wasn’t something that we needed to try so hard on getting him cool. But it certainly was the look of this Hollywood star that you don’t really see much anymore.”
Long after his acting days ended with mushroom clouds, Cooper’s bounty hunter, ghoul life features not only a fun nod to a Sergio Leone classic but a tragic reminder of the character’s past. “He’s more like Clint,” Westcott said of the ghoul. “It was more The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, that kind of thing when it came to the ghoul. I’m not sure if you noticed, but he is wearing his Cooper Howard costume, his cowboy shirt and cowboy pants, and even the same boot aged many, many, many, many years. We added the duster to look like he stole it from a person that he shot and killed or something, so he’s acquired things to add on top of his Cooper Howard persona.”
Check back next week for our full interview with Amy Westcott.
