If you're starting to think that Ella Purnell is going to be some kind of gaming icon, you'll be forgiven for hearing that she doesn't really like video games and wants to stop taking on video game roles after Fallout and Mystery shock.
Via Popverse, we've learned that while speaking at MCM x EGX 2024, she briefly discussed how lucky she was to play the roles of Lucy and Jinx on the two hit shows, but also expressed her interest in further adventures in the video Game adaptation.
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“It's true and I feel guilty saying this, but I'm not a gamer and I don't know how I managed to get two video game adaptations that were both good. I don't know how this happened, but I don’t know the answer,” she explained. This goes against previous assumptions, as she expressed interest in the Fallout games and lore outside of the series' first season script, and that she is a casual gamer.
I mean, she's not wrong. While the overall quality of video game adaptations, both animated and live-action, has certainly improved in recent years, we're still seeing a lot of bad ones, like the absolutely terrible Borderlands movie that finally came out this summer. With Hollywood now doubling down on video games as the next gold-mining thing in popular material, we have to remember that that doesn't mean most adaptations will suddenly be good. In fact, we're still blown away by how great Fallout's first season was.
Another problem for actors who get too comfortable with a lot of work in one space is that, most of the time, they start to get typecast, and when that well inevitably dries up, their careers take a hit. Purnell is well aware of this and wants to avoid it if possible: “I actually think I need to stay away from video game adaptations now because I'm going to be typecast. I'm going to be the video game girl. I think there's more to it than this. Worse things.” With big TV shows like Yellowjackets and Sweetpea showing that she has a lot to offer outside of some of the most famous gaming universes, it seemed like the right move.
Note that this doesn't mean Purnell is done with the video game adaptation; Jinx may still be alive after the events of Arcane Season 2 and appear in future League of Legends shows, and Prime Video “Fallout” (which is filming its second season) may still be around for a few more years. Just don't expect her to get more brand new projects like this. I'm pretty sure there's no other actor who can say they've been in a great video game adaptation.
