2025 February | Actor Appreciation | Ella Purnell

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With the release of Yellowjackets season 3, it's time to take a moment to look at the career of Ella Purnell.

Yellowjackets

Ella Purnell plays Jackie Taylor, the captain of the Yellowjackets soccer team, in the TV series Yellowjackets. Initially, Jackie is seen as confident and self-assured. Her character faces growing challenges after the plane crash, having the most difficulty adapting to life in the wilderness. This strains the relationships of the survivors of the plane crash and forces everyone to confront their true selves.

Purnell brings depth and complexity to Jackie, showing the character's evolution from a symbol of social dominance to someone struggling with survival and identity.

Fallout

Based on the hit post-apocalyptic video game, Fallout depicts the aftermath of the Great War of 2077. Many survivors of the nuclear aftermath took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults which, unknown to the survivors, were designed to perform sociological and psychological experiments on behalf of Vault-Tec. One of the survivors is a Vault Dweller, Lucy MacLean, played by Ella Purnell.

Described by Purnell as a newbie to the wasteland when she emerges from Vault 33, Lucy is a multidimensional character. She is naive, innocent, strong and courageous. She is one of the three archetypes of the morality that is explored in the show and the game. Purnell does a fantastic job at conveying the complexities of the character and is a highlight of the show.

Arcane

In Arcane, Jinx is a little different from the original character in League of Legends and some of the development in the character can be attributed to Ella Purnell's captivating voice acting. In the animated TV series, more time is spent exploring Jinx's backstory, the tumultuous relationship she has with her estranged sister, and with how her mental state through her trauma and unspecified disorder.

Purnell is able to capture the manic, the anger, the hurt, the mischief, and the pure chaotic energy of the character so skillfully in both seasons of the show, it is a blast to watch. In the second season, there is another side of Jinx that is explored that allows Purnell to show a new side of the character. Through the relationship between Jinx and Isha and with the animation and Purnell's voice acting, Jinx takes on a big sister role where a tender and protective side is explored. Purnell's take on Jinx's character through her voice alone is so fascinating and brings the fan favorite character to life.