Halo’s Charlie Murphy Talks Playing Makee, Learning an Alien Language, and Wild Season Finale

After nine episodes, the first season of Halo has now finished releasing on Paramount+. The final episode is one that brought with it many surprises, especially in relation to the ongoing relationship between Master Chief and Makee.

To coincide with the end of Season 1, we were recently able to speak with Charlie Murphy, who portrays Makee in Halo. Murphy talked to us not only about the process of playing a completely new character in the larger history of the Halo franchise, but also about how she prepared to speak the fictional Covenant language of Sangheili. In addition, she touched on what the future could hold for Makee and if she would like to continue to play the character in the future. 

Preparation to Play Makee

CB: What was it about Makee as a character in Halo that first attracted you to this role?

CM: It was a strange but really fun process. I was definitely an outsider. All the Spartans were training together, and I suppose my prep was the Sangheili language. So that’s where my homework started, and that was my starting point, and my touchstone, and I suppose my access into her as I kind of navigated her. She found this incredible cult she didn’t know was a cult. So she’s just this incredible cult member, and she has allegiance to this environment, what she feels is a very supportive place that she hadn’t had before. So that was those little ways to access how to approach Makee, really.

Learning to Speak Sangheili

CB: You mentioned the language that you speak in the series, Sangheili. Was that difficult to learn? What was that process like of learning this fictional language?

CM: First of all, it’s such a privilege, but very very daunting when you get those sound bites in from David Peterson, and you’re like, “Oh my God, where do I start with this? How do I find the needle in the haystack? And what’s my hook?” But he was really incredible in breaking it down phonetically, and then translating word-for-word in position of the sentence, and also then translating it into how you would think in Sangheili, placing words in different parts of the sentence as opposed to English.

So there were three versions of everything on the page. Every line had three versions basically of what it was, which was really good in breaking it down. And then it was just call and response, copy and paste. He was very good at slowing it down, and it was almost like sheet music. He made it so accessible and so fun, so fun. You get such a kick out of it as well. I think it’s like learning a dance move or something, although I’m a terrible dancer. But when you get something, you’re like, “Oh, I really practiced that. I got it.” It’s quite addictive, I think.

Makee’s Own Parallels to Master Chief

CB: One of the more interesting things about Makee in Halo is that her character directly parallels with Master Chief in many ways. They’re both doomed to these tragic fates that are beyond their control. What was appealing about that to you, looking at the series as a whole?

CM: It is really fertile playing ground for an actor to be given a part where something has been stolen from you and you have the opportunity to avenge that, or gain back the ground that you think you’ve lost, or that is owed to you. That’s really, really fun. So that was obviously something that was very attractive to me. And there’s huge scope there for that emotional journey of being a stunted adult, and then trying to learn in an adult body, all the things that you’ve missed out on socially as a child and teenage years.

That’s fun and unusual, to explore that as an adult, in an adult part, in an adult body. And I think that’s what I love about it. They’re innocent, even though they yield this tremendous power, both of them. And they’re kind of revered and hated, and both sides are good and bad, both love and hate them. And they are just in the center of themselves, lost really, but also incredibly powerful. And just so much fun with Pablo. We had a lot of fun. 

Portraying an All-New Character in Halo

CB: Makee is kind of this window into the Covenant for viewers with Halo, but she’s also a new character to the larger Halo universe and lore. How did you feel coming into this series knowing that you would play a role that fans weren’t familiar with?

CM: I was nervous because I didn’t know how people would react to this character because she didn’t exist before. But also I was excited as well, because I thought, what a great vehicle, like you say, a window into that world, and a human hook into that world. So it was like a great in for an audience, I think. It was kind of a genius move on the showrunner and producer’s part to create that character, and it was just such a daunting prospect to play her. And I felt like you have no control, you can only turn up on the day having done your homework and put whatever you can in the can, and then hopefully, hopefully, people will like it. And not everyone will, but that’s okay.

Makee’s Fate in Season 1

CB: Without spoiling much, did you know where Makee’s journey would end by the time Halo reached the end of this first season?

CM: Yeah, I had a good idea of where she was heading and what was going to happen. From the beginning, yes, I did.

CB: Did that affect how you happened to play the character in any scenes throughout the show?

CM: I don’t think so, no. You don’t know what you don’t know. I think her journey was quite clear actually, and the temperature of each episode, and how that ratchets up, and what she discovers is kind of nicely paced. I think they managed to help me pace that as well, I think.

Returning to Play Makee Again

CB: At the end of the Halo Season 1 finale, we are kind of left to assume that your character’s fate is pretty final. If you were to come back in the future, would you be interested in continuing this character’s journey, or do you think that story is told?

CM: I think there is a wealth of ideas for Makee. I think there’s a lot that you could do with that character, if in some weird and wonderful future existence that she continued in any form. I could imagine some adventures for sure. […] I’ll try not to forget the language at least, just in case.

The Hope Found in Halo

CB: Halo is a property that means so much to so many people but now we’ve got this TV series that is taking a different approach to what fans already know. What is it about this story, not just your own journey with Makee, that draws you to this universe?

CM: There’s so much hope, and we need hope. That’s what it is for me. There’s just so much hope that’s there when everything in the world and our existence feels so endangered in real life. It’s kind of mirrored there. But justice will prevail, as they say. I think Master Chief just represents so much good and hope, and Pablo Schreiber is just incredible at executing that.

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The entire first season of Halo is streaming now exclusively on Paramount+. Season 2 has already been greenlit but doesn’t have a release window just yet.