Warning: Spoilers ahead for Fallout season 1 on Prime Video.

Summary

• The Fallout TV show surprises viewers with surprise appearances from actors in unexpected roles.
• Original characters bring fresh excitement to Fallout season 1, blending humor with serious moments for a unique experience.
• Cameos from familiar faces like Michael Rapaport and Fred Armisen add additional interest to the Fallout universe in Amazon's adaptation.

Amazon's Fallout cast come as a welcome surprise when they appear. Despite having a good sense of humor, Fallout isn't strictly a comedy, which arguably makes it all the more surprising that many of the show's guest stars come from comedic backgrounds. That being said, not all of them were cast for comic relief.

The Fallout universe allows a whole host of compelling characters to pop up all over the end of Fallout season 1, it becomes evident that the Amazon adaptation of the Bethesda game series isn't afraid to introduce new characters just for the fun moment of recognizing the actor playing them. However, the show never goes for shock value for the sake of it, as Fallout's higher-profile guest stars all offer something valuable to the show.

Amazon's TV show is set at the latest point yet in the Fallout timeline, meaning many of the characters in the production have never appeared in the video game franchise. As such, guest stars stepping in for their respective cameo appearances largely have a great deal of creative freedom to establish an in-universe persona that won't disrupt the game branch of the Fallout franchise. Some Fallout cameos are little more than a bit of fun, whereas others introduce characters pivotal to the overall plot.

5 Michael Rapaport As Knight Titus

Titus didn't live up to Maximus' expectations

As a member of Fallout's Brotherhood of Steel, Knight Titus begins as an imposing figure whose face is hidden for the majority of his lone episode. Titus is played by journeyman actor and comedian, Michael Rapaport. While Rapaport has had roles in various comedic and dramatic productions, including My Name is Earl and Justified, his most famous character is arguably Gary from Friends, despite only playing the fictional police officer in just four episodes in 1999.

In Fallout, Titus and the other Knights are looked up to by aspiring of the Brotherhood, including Maximus. An unfortunate truth about Titus' false reputation is unveiled in Fallout season 1, episode 2, "The Target," when Rapaport's character flees an irradiated bear rather than stand his ground and fight as a Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel is expected to do.

Titus proves himself to be cruel as well as cowardly as he insults Maximus while also asking for a Stimpak to heal his wounds.

The revelation that Knight Titus is portrayed by Michael Raport is a welcome surprise for fans of his work, and the presence of a comedic actor cleverly misleads the audience into believing the sequence will be funnier than it is. Instead, Titus proves himself to be cruel as well as cowardly as he insults Maximus while also asking for a Stimpak to heal his wounds. Titus is a pivotal character in Maximus' journey, with the latter inheriting the former's power armor and even operating under his name for a short while.

4 Fred Armisen As DJ Carl

DJ Carl is a perfect role for Fred Arimsen

Fred Armisen is most known for his improvisational work and sketches during his lengthy stretch on Saturday Night Live. Whenever Armisen has landed a role outside the show that launched him to success, his characters tend to be irreverent and off-beat. For example, Fred Armisen's cameos in New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are perfect encapsulations of his brand of comedy, and DJ Carl continues this trend. Carl is perhaps a little less eccentric than some of Arimsen's past roles, but he manages to make his small cameo just as captivating.

DJ Carl runs a radio tower, and potentially even owns and lives in it. From his enthusiasm when he's showing Thaddeus the abrasive recording of some string instruments, Carl seems to be as much of an audiophile as living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland allows. When explaining to Thaddeus what makes the music so enjoyable, Carl tells him that no one appreciates that they're the "Original recordings," but he never specifies what they're the original recordings of. This implies Carl either doesn't know, or he's just withholding information to make the scenario confusing, which is very on-brand for Armisen's past characters.

From his enthusiasm when he's showing Thaddeus the abrasive recording of some string instruments, Carl seems to be as much of an audiophile as living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland allows.

A large, colorful sign declares that DJ Carl's radio tower broadcasts a station called, "KPSS." It's unclear how far the tower's signal reaches, but it's at least sufficient for Thaddeus to reach out to the Brotherhood to request extraction. DJ Carl appears to be aware of the threat the Wasteland can present, as he hides when it becomes clear Thaddeus is about to fight with Maximus and Lucy. Carl also has the land around his tower extensively booby-trapped.

Fred Armisen's cameo as DJ Carl is in Fallout season 1, episode 7, "The Radio."

3 Chris Parnell As Overseer Benjamin

Vault 4's leader is fair almost to a fault

Parnell s his former Saturday Night Live colleague Fred Armisen to play a part in the world of Fallout. While Armisen's role is strictly to make the audience laugh, Chris Parnell's Fallout character holds a much more compelling place in the show's lore. Overseer Benjamin is the leader of Vault 4, which is a rather unconventional community when compared with the other groups of Vault Dwellers. The inhabitants of Vault 4, Benajmin included, are descended from Surface Dwellers who were experimented upon by the Vault's first wave of citizens - who were scientists.

While Benjamin is too young to have been around for the coup that stopped the scientists from experimenting on his ancestors, he is keenly aware of Vault 4's tumultuous history. He has strong opinions about Surface Dwellers, and he's very vocal about their smell and customs, but he is not cruel in the way that he interacts with either Lucy or Maximus. Benjamin has one eye in the middle of his face as a result of the experiments conducted on his ancestors and even claims that the Gulper on level 12 is his great-uncle.

Overseer Benjamin is a perfect role for Chris Parnell to make an impact while also not overshadowing Fallout's main cast. The actor's natural charisma makes it easy for him to effortlessly steal the spotlight, so while he is given his chance to shine as Benjamin, he is used sparingly. Parnell appears in back-to-back episodes in Fallout season 1: episode 6, "The Trap," and episode 7, "The Radio." Compared with some of the other Fallout cameos, Parnell is permitted to make a fairly big contribution to the show.

2 Matt Berry As Sebastian Leslie/Snip Snip

Snip Snip's persona is based on a Sebastian Leslie character

Matt Berry is unique among the Fallout cameos in that he's permitted to play more than one character. His instantly recognizable voice is introduced to the show in Fallout season 1, episode 4, "The Ghouls," when the nefarious Mr. Handy robot called Snip Snip enters the fray. Berry's signature comedic vibe works brilliantly for Snip Snip, as although the robot initially comes across as friendly and even caring, it's revealed soon after that he's been repurposed for non-consensual organ harvesting. As such, Berry's silky tones leaving such an evil machine adds to the fear factor regarding what Lucy almost endures.

Berry also has a small part in Fallout season 1, episode 1, "The End," as a Mr. Handy robot that may or may not be Snip Snip before he was reprogrammed.

The origin of Snip Snip's voice is explained in Fallout season 1, episode 6, "The Trap," when Matty Berry also appears in person as the fictional actor Sebastian Leslie from before the bombs dropped. During an exchange with Walter Goggins' Cooper Howard, Sebastian reveals he sold his vocal rights to, "That spinning robot they sell to housewives and perverts" for "$186,000, pre-tax." He was also given a Mr. Handy robot as part of the deal.

While Sebastian does provide the voice template for all Mr. Handy robots produced by General Atomics International, he's not doing so as himself. Instead, Sebastian is known in the Fallout universe for playing a character known as a butler named Codsworth, and so the artificial personality of Mr. Handy is actually modeled on Codsworth rather than Sebastian Leslie the actor. Quite interestingly, this ties Sebastian Leslie into the Fallout video games too, as Mr. Handy robots show up throughout the franchise.

1 Michael Emerson As Dr. Siggi Wilzig

Dr. Wilzig's presence in Fallout extends beyond Emerson's episode

Michael Emerson's Fallout character is so deeply ingrained in the show's plot and that it seems unusual not to include him as part of the main cast. However, Dr. Siggi Wilzig only ever truly appears in Fallout season 1, episode 2, "The Target." As such, it's more accurate to describe Dr. Siggi Wilzig's sole appearance as an extended cameo from Emerson. Fans of Lost will be among the most likely to recognize the actor, with Emerson appearing in 81 episodes of the show, as well as 103 episodes of Person of Interest.

Dr. Wilzig is an incredibly intelligent and deeply comionate man. The scientist endangers his life not only to save the pragmatically named CX404 but also contributes to the death of a man in defense of the dog while also showing a willingness to flee the safety of the facility that had kept him safe as he worked. Wilzig's time spent in the Wasteland is short, as while he had a plan to reach Lee Moldaver and the rest of the New California Republic, the Ghoul had other ideas as he shot the doctor's foot clean off in Filly.

Despite Emerson only portraying Dr. Wilzig in a single episode of Fallout, the character and Emerson's likeness continue to appear in a new form throughout the rest of the show. Dr. Wilzig's severed head becomes the most sought-after item in the Wasteland. The head, which decays as the episodes progress, contains a key part of his research into cold fusion. Not only that, but the head is also modeled on Michael Emerson, making his presence in Amazon's Fallout TV show feel like it spans far beyond "The Target."

Fallout season 1 is available to stream in its entirety on Prime Video.