Before playing The Ghoul in the TV adaptation of the Fallout videogame series, Walton Goggins had been a relatively underrated actor, despite appearing in many critically-acclaimed productions. Goggins has had an extremely versatile career as a character actor, and he is often unrecognizable due to the physical transformations he undergoes to play his characters. His role as the mutated Fallout anti-hero, The Ghoul, is bringing Goggins a new wave of attention as a performer. This includes his role in another videogame adaptation which was far less successful than Fallout, but underrated.

Goggins played the villainous archaeologist and treasure hunter turned mercenary Mathias Vogel in 2018’s Tomb Raider reboot, in which Alicia Vikander replaces Angelina Jolie as the iconic Lara Croft. Though his introduction is somewhat understated, Vogel is Lara’s enemy and Tomb Raider‘s main antagonist. While the movie received mixed reviews for its far-fetched plot (even for a Lara Croft movie) and uneven pacing, Goggins stole the show with his portrayal of Vogel, who just wants to do his job and go home to his family, regardless of the cost to others.

Walton Goggins’ Vogel Is One Of The Best Things About 2018’s Tomb Raider

Vogel Is Different To More Ego-Driven Lara Croft Villains

Goggins’ character is introduced in a disarmingly casual way, even when he reveals that he killed Lara’s father and then shoots one of his own men dead. However, throughout Tomb Raider, Goggins’ performance increases Vogel’s intensity until it rivals Lara’s. Vogel’s one ambition is to see his family again after spending seven years in Yamatai, searching for the lost grave of Himiko. Over time, his mission changed him from a pitiable figure to a psychopathic murderer, and Goggins’ portrayal of Vogel’s character progression from inertia to obsession was one of the best things about the movie.

Walton Goggins had never played the Tomb Raider videogames, or seen any of the Angelina Jolie Lara Croft movies before signing up to play Vogel in Tomb Raider .

Goggins plays Vogel in a very distinctive and world-weary way deliberately. In a Tomb Raider featurette, Goggins describes Vogel’s situation as being “a Wednesday in the longest week of his life,” and, in an interview with Screen Rant, Goggins explained his portrayal of Tomb Raider‘s Vogel, saying that the misery his character felt had given way to numbness, leaving Vogel “devoid of feeling.” Vogel is unlike many other ego-driven Lara Croft villains in that he doesn’t care about the artifact, only the fact that he can go home once he has found it.

Walton Goggins Is Great In Tomb Raider But Even Better In Fallout

Vogel And The Ghoul Are Similar Characters

 

Goggins uses his skills as a character actor to bring subtlety to Tomb Raider‘s Vogel, who dresses practically and is not covered in make-up or visual effects. On the other hand, The Ghoul is an iconic character in Fallout, but Goggins has to act his way through full-face prosthetics. Goggins also plays Cooper Howard, The Ghoul’s past human form, and while playing The Ghoul, Goggins slowly brings in elements of Cooper. Goggins is excellent as the cold-blooded Vogel in Tomb Raider, but The Ghoul is a more nuanced character, and Goggins is even better in Fallout, stealing the show.

The Ghoul and Vogel are not dissimilar, as both characters have lost their humanity after a long period of separation from their families (though the entire world has changed in Fallout, giving The Ghoul a lot more to mourn.) Even while fully human, Cooper Howard is shown to go to extreme lengths to keep his family, while Vogel will stop at nothing to return to his. However, Vogel dies a monster, while the monstrous-looking Ghoul seems to start rediscovering his humanity as the events of Fallout season 1 progress, even showing mercy, which Vogel would not do.

Why 2018’s Tomb Raider Never Got A Sequel (Was It A Flop?)

It Is Possible For Walton Goggins To Return To Tomb Raider (But Not As Vogel)

Though a sequel to Tomb Raider looked set to happen, the project was canceled. However, this is not necessarily because Tomb Raider was a flop. Tomb Raider earned a 52% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While this score is somewhat modest, it is significantly better than Lara Croft: Tomb Raider‘s 20% positive rating – a total which proved enough for another Jolie Tomb Raider to be made. MGM lost the rights to make the Lara Croft sequel due to concerns over time and budget, as they were unable to greenlight the sequel in time, and Tomb Raider just about broke even, earning $274.7 million worldwide.

Movie
Budget
Box Office
Rotten Tomatoes Score

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
$115 million
£274.4 million
20%

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003)
$95 million
$160.1 million
24%

Tomb Raider (2018)
$90-106 million
$274.7 million
52%

Hayley Atwell will play Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft, and there will be a live-action Lara Croft show on Amazon. There are more Tomb Raider stories to tell, and though Vogel is dead, Goggins could return as another character. Early in his career, Goggins played four different characters in episodes of the police drama In the Heat of the Night, and his dual character in Fallout shows that he can still play other versions of characters in the same production. This precedent suggests Goggins may yet appear in a Lara Croft sequel.