Ella Purnell Talks Having a “Poop Finger” While Filming ‘Fallout’
Ella Purnell, the breakout star of Amazon Prime’s hit series ‘Fallout,’ recently opened up about a quirky challenge she faced on set. While playing Lucy MacLean, a vault dweller navigating a wild post-apocalyptic world, she had to deal with a fake finger that became a daily annoyance. It’s not just any finger—it’s the one she nicknamed ‘poop finger,’ and it’s been driving her up the wall.
The story starts in season one of ‘Fallout,’ where Lucy goes through some rough moments. She’s a determined character, leaving the safety of Vault 33 to search for her kidnapped father in a dangerous, irradiated Los Angeles. Along the way, she crosses paths with The Ghoul, played by Walton Goggins, a tough bounty hunter from a different era. In a brutal encounter, Lucy bites off his finger, and he gets payback by slicing off hers. Later, a robot doctor patches her up with a replacement—a ‘gently used’ finger that doesn’t quite match her skin tone. That’s where the trouble begins for Purnell.
Every day on set, the makeup team had to paint this new finger to look dead and discolored. Purnell said it’s the finger she uses most, which made the constant painting and removing a real hassle. ‘It’s the bane of my life,’ she admitted with a laugh during a chat at Fan Expo HQ. The dark shade of the prosthetic earned it the nickname ‘poop finger,’ a term coined by makeup designer Mike Harvey that quickly caught on with the crew. It even made it onto the official call sheets!
Purnell didn’t hold back about how awkward it got off-set too. She’d go to places like Whole Foods, picking up veggies, and catch people staring at her oddly painted finger. ‘They’re thinking, “Don’t touch the food with that!”’ she joked. It’s a funny problem, but one she hopes doesn’t follow her to future roles. She’s already lost a finger as Jinx in the animated series ‘Arcane,’ based on the game League of Legends. ‘I don’t want to be the actress who keeps losing fingers,’ she said, half-serious.
‘Fallout’ has been a massive win for Amazon Prime, pulling in millions of viewers since its April 2024 debut. The show mixes dark humor with gritty action, staying true to the Bethesda video game franchise it’s based on. Lucy’s mismatched finger fits right into that vibe—gruesome yet oddly comical. Season two is already in the works, filming in Santa Clarita despite delays from California wildfires, and we’re likely to see it in early 2026. Purnell’s back in the makeup chair, dealing with that finger again.
Walton Goggins, her co-star, has his own makeup struggles as The Ghoul, covered head-to-toe in prosthetics to look like a walking corpse. Compared to that, Purnell’s single finger seems like a small gripe, but it’s clearly gotten under her skin. ‘It’s so annoying to deal with every day,’ she shared. Still, she’s loving the ride with ‘Fallout,’ a show that’s put her front and center after roles in projects like ‘Yellowjackets’ and ‘Army of the Dead.’
That finger might be a pain, but it’s also a little badge of her hard work on a series we can’t get enough of. Here’s hoping season two gives Lucy—and Purnell—a break from the ‘poop finger’ saga, though I wouldn’t bet on it in the wild wasteland of ‘Fallout.’