Unknown 9: Awakening is an upcoming action-adventure game coming to us from Bandai Namco and Reflector Entertainment—a studio right here in Canada! Helming the cast is The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra, who plays Haroona, a Quaestor who is born with an ability that allows her to move in and out of something called The Fold. This dimension is filled with mystery, and what’s a good adventure game without various factions vying for the same power?
CGMagazine sat down with Anya ahead of Unknown 9’s release on October 18th. Though we have already gone hands-on with the game for previews, we wanted to pick Chalotra’s brain on the process of preparing for a character this seeded in lore, what she thought of motion capture and a bit about seeing her culture in the role of Haroona.
Could you just tell us a bit about your character and how she fits into Unknown 9: Awakening?
Anya Chalotra: Haroona leads you through this game, this world, and she is on a quest to avenge her mentor, Reika, whose life has been taken by Vincent, and find out more about the Unknown 9. She is strong-willed and resilient. She’s fiercely independent because she has an innate power, a kind of calling that’s outside of herself. It’s internal, but it is about something bigger than herself that she can rely on. She’s not selfish. She’s always thinking about something greater. She also possesses incredible supernatural powers that only through her choices are as powerful as they are.
What drew you to the role of Haroona in Unknown 9: Awakening in the first place?
Anya Chalotra: Haroona! For all the reasons I just mentioned. Why wouldn’t I want to play this character and especially lend my culture and that part of myself, Indian heritage, to this woman of Indian descent? But not only that, there’s a real sense of groundedness and authenticity that she has that I know I feel because of my family. I wanted to… I hope that that’s what grounds her.
What was the casting process like for Unknown 9: Awakening? How did you find yourself in this role?
Anya Chalotra: I didn’t audition. I was offered the opportunity, and I jumped at it. I grabbed it with both hands because what an amazing opportunity for me to do motion capture. I love working with my body. I’m very inspired by Andy Serkis. I’ve always wanted to be an ape in Planet of the Apes. I love studying animals. Haroona’s not an animal, but it’s in the same world.
I did get to explore a lot more of my body with this character than I have done on screen or in theatre because of the space. The space allows you and needs you to fully embody a person because you have nothing in the space. There’s nothing to lean on, really, other than you, other than the other actors. You’re imagining everything, every prop—there’s no props. Every object, every room, world, landscape.
You have a history of playing very powerful women in projects you’re part of, like Yennefer in The Witcher and Haroona in Unknown 9. How does it feel to be a role model across gaming, fantasy and more?
Anya Chalotra: I owe that to the writing of these strong characters who have had enough time on screen or in voice recording or in video games to be explored in their fullest capacity. Everyone deserves their full selves to be explored because whatever the truth is about this character or whether you think this character is good or bad, there’s so much that is behind their choices; there’s a whole life, and I’m just so glad that I get enough time in the characters I play for people to feel like they’re strong and connected.
You’ve brought characters from video games to the screen with The Witcher. Now you’re bringing a completely new character to life in Unknown 9: Awakening. How does that feel?
Anya Chalotra: Wow, I feel… I can’t really compare it to The Witcher because it’s so different. They’re both a game. They’re iconic characters. Hopefully, Haroona will become an iconic character. I think I was well-prepped with The Witcher. In the gaming world, I don’t think I’d have been as “in it” without The Witcher. So, I felt comfortable in what I was getting into and how many people this character could reach.
If you had the chance to bring Haroona to life in a live-action format, would you jump at the chance?
Anya Chalotra: Yes. I’d love to. Yeah, absolutely. The thing is she’s already, she already looks like me, so I don’t know why I wouldn’t!
What was the process of getting in touch with your character and bringing Haroona to life in Unknown 9: Awakening?
Anya Chalotra: I started with a script, a really detailed script, because so much of the world wasn’t formed yet when I got this, or I couldn’t see visuals, at least. So it was detailed and that was my foundation for building this character, getting to know how she relates to the world and how she relates to the people she meets along the way. Then, I was challenged by the ideas and voices in the space and the director. Then, further on in the journey, I got visuals and that blew my mind and was nothing like I had in my head. So it was nice to know that I was on the right track, I hope.
It must be very different, going from acting with actual actors on set compared to this sort of creative process. How did that look?
Anya Chalotra: Yeah, 100%. I couldn’t have… Like, Haroona is not just me. There were a lot of people in the space who had done motion capture before, and without them, I would not have been able to feel at ease or feel confident in the space. I really relied on them, and all the actors involved made Haroona who she is.
What is your take on the lore of Unknown 9: Awakening?
Anya Chalotra: I’m just so inspired by this new world that’s been created. The spiritual aspect of Unknown 9: Awakening and the culture, you know, what this game has been inspired by, which is India. I’m excited for people to hopefully feel empowered by this character, who is so grounded, so inspired by things that are outside of herself, bigger than her. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game as diverse as this with that many voices and that kind of exploration.
Now, to wrap up, do you play video games yourself, and are you planning to play Unknown 9: Awakening?
Anya Chalotra: Yeah! I play. I mean, I played when I was a kid. I played The Witcher when I got the part, and that was my first introduction into how big this world was. And I’m definitely going to play Unknown 9 and play myself, which would be very confusing.
Thank you so much for your time.
Anya Chalotra: Thank you. Bye.
Unknown 9: Awakening releases on October 18th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. Check out clips from our interview on CGMagazine’s TikTok, YouTube or Instagram.
