Justin Theroux Says There Are “Two Kinds of Actor” Friends and ‘Fallout’ Co-Star Walton Goggins Is The Non-Competitive Type: “[We] Have Always Been In The Latter Camp Of Championing Each Other”

Justin Theroux and Walton Goggins aren’t just good friends anymore; they’re co-stars thanks to Season 2 of Fallout.

After years of knowing each other through industry connections, the second season of Prime Video‘s runaway hit unites the longtime besties to play Robert House (Theroux) and Cooper Howard/The Ghoul (Goggins), adversaries who first come face-to-face in the third episode.

According to Theroux, while there is always more competition in an actor’s younger years, he and Goggins skipped right over that stage and got right into being happy to see each other win.

“There’s two kinds of actors. There are those that are competitive with one another — and this is really when you’re younger — and then there are those that champion each other,” The Leftovers star shared. “Me and Walton, and our sort of friend group of which there are a ton of us, have always been in the latter camp of championing each other and enjoying each other in success.”

In the case of Fallout, their success means playing two characters at odds, both pre and post-nuclear apocalypse. Episode 3, “The Profilgate,” sees the two characters having a tense encounter in a bathroom where Robert House, the enigmatic tech genius, questions Cooper’s political positions, asking him if he’s “a pinko,” a.k.a. a liberal.

It’s that taut back-and-forth dynamic — which has only been newly introduced and will continue to develop throughout Season 2 — that made Theroux excited to dive into scenework with his friend on set with Goggins, as well as the other stars of the show.

“When he [Walton Goggins] called me and told me that he wanted me to come play with them, I was like, ‘Oh, yes.’ It was a dream come true, [I was] really flattered and also so excited to get to work,” he said. “Most times you get a job and you think, ‘I’ll show up and I hope that person’s cool and whatever.”

He added, “Those days with him were really special and that’s sort of the experience that I’ll walk away with from this whole thing… Just really good, long days on set with him.”

Will their relationship in the show continue to see them suspicious of each other’s intentions? Perhaps House and Cooper Howard will put aside their differences and kiss as Theroux and Goggins did at last year’s Webby Awards? Unlikely, but one can hope.

The first four episodes of Fallout Season 2 are now streaming on Prime Video. New episodes release Wednesdays.

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