THE THREE LEADS of Prime Video’s Fallout, the campy/fun/prestige TV series based on the beloved post-apocalyptic video game series of the same name, are ostensibly Ella Purnell (as “valult dweller” Lucy), Aaron Moten (as Brotherhood of Steel “Knight” Maximus), and Walton Goggins (as Cooper Howard/The Ghoul). But the show deceptively has another thread running throughout its entire first season—down in the vault even after Lucy leaves to explore the surface—and that follows Norm, Lucy’s brother and a pretty damn perceptive.
Norm, played by actor Moises Arias, anchors the storyline that continues in Vault 33 after Lucy’s departure as it becomes less about a supposedly idyllic society, and more of a truly mysterious conspiracy thriller. While seemingly just about everyone else down there is naive, Norm is the only one using common sense; he’s the only one asking the right questions. And as such, by the end of the season, he’s the one who we’ve followed and trust enough to know when he’s really onto something. He uncovers a conspiracy, and when he does—and it kind of winds up biting him in the ass—we’re fully on his side.
In some ways, we can compare Norm, strangely, to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s storyline in the much-hated Star Wars: Attack of the Clones film: while the other main characters are off with their stories intersecting and following a primary thread, Norm, like Obi-Wan in Clones, is kind of off on his own futuristic-noir mystery. And, unlike what many seem to think about that specific Star Wars film, Norm’s storyline in Fallout is a blast—and one we can’t wait to see continue in (fingers crossed!) Season 2.
Stream Fallout Here
Moisés Arias, who played Rico on Hannah Montana, plays Norm on Fallout
If you’re watching Fallout and find yourself thinking that the actor playing Norm looks familiar… there’s a decent chance you were coming of age in the 2000s, and watched Hannah Montana at that time. Moisés Arias, who played Norm, played Rico—the scheming, mischievous, face of capitalism—on Hannah Montana.
It hasn’t been a quiet time for Arias, however—he’s worked consistently in film and television in the time since appearing alongside Miley Cyrus and friends. Some of his most notable credits include one of the lead roles in The Kings of Summer, the 2013 festival hit that became an indie comedy favorite, the 2013 Ender’s Game adaptation alongside Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, and Hailee Steinfeld, 2022’s Samaritan alongside Sylvester Stallone, and as Pete Davidson’s friend in the 2020 Judd Apatow film The King of Staten Island.
Arias has certainly kept busy, but there’s no question that playing Norm in Fallout has been his most significant role yet; not only does he get to play things straight rather than being relegated to comic relief, but the show depends heavily on him to reveal some vital pieces of lore and mythology that are rooted in the mystery of Vaults 31, 32, and 33. And he does a damn good job with all that responsibility on his shoulders.
