We recently got a chance to sit down and have a bit of a chat about Unknown 9: Awakening with the lovely Anya Chalotra. While most would remember her as Yennefer of Vengerberg in Netflix adaptation of The Witcher or as Zula in the original stage adaptation of Pawel Pawlikowski’s academy-award nominated film Cold War, she’ll be entering the video game space as Haroona, the badass heroine of the upcoming Bandao Namco title, Unknown 9: Awakening.
Anya shared her experiences in production, including the challenges it entailed. While she’s a veteran on the stage and on-screen, breathing life into a video game character was a new and exciting experience for her, and we shared that very same excitement. Speaking of being on the stage, her work in theater did help quite a bit in the development of Haroona’s character.
“Theater helped a lot. I was I was trained in theater. So, I suppose that means I was trained to not take myself too seriously–and be a fool in a space. That’s what I was doing; being a fool in a space. Even in the theater world, you know, it’s quite daunting to do that,” she shared.
She elaborates that this also gave her the freedom to mold Haroona into her own character was quite the experience.
“There’s always a sense of getting the truth right, or the best version. Whereas with the gaming world, it wasn’t just about getting it right. It was about exploring, like really, truly exploring,” she added. “Because you had to. No one else knew what was going on in your head, and you had to imagine everything. So, you had real freedom.”
We also asked if Unknown 9: Awakening’s premise reminded her of any favorite films, or pieces of work that she enjoyed. The plot of interspersing reality with a combination of the supernatural and sci-fi in a parallel universe makes for some interesting storylines–which tend to be personal favorites of many.
“It really doesn’t. I can’t think of any world that this is like, but I can totally understand why people do love this kind of work,” she said. “You know, things which are a whole other dimension and another space. Because it’s when it’s done well, it’s like it ignites something in you that’s like a curiosity–like a connection to something.”
She also shared how players would have quite the experience traversing the landscape–and possible more dimensions in-between. “These worlds when they’re done well, grip you and hold you. Like, hold your interest, your your gaze, so that you don’t have to keep looking away into what’s real.”
While Unknown 9: Awakening does bear some familiar tropes and story beats, the way Anya phrases things draws quite a bit more interest towards what’s in store for players in the game. What truly piqued our interest the most is how the world can manage to take hold of your interest–and keep you locked in.
“They hold you in a really safe space, so you can actually journey there–and this is what that world does. So intense and enthusiastic.”
While Anya couldn’t go much deeper into the plot, we do appreciate her sharing more of what happens behind the scenes, and how she felt during the production process. It’s also nice to know how Unknown 9: Awakening will somehow be perceived by those looking to play it–us included. As such, we do appreciate her having us, and just couldn’t help but ask a personal question.
Ever since production wrapped up, people keep asking, “Where is Anya?” But no one asks, “How is Anya?”
“That’s so sweet. I don’t think anyone has ever asked that in an interview. That’s so lovely. How am I? I’m all right. I’m in the middle of filming The Witcher at the moment, Witcher season four. So, I’m a little tired, but I’m excited. A new surge of energy talking about this game, and recalling moments of joy and freedom has like–a little spark for going back to filming next week.”
We also reminded her to always hydrate.
“I’ve got my bottle here. First of the day, oh dear.”
We truly can’t wait for more details on Unknown 9: Awakening to drop, and we’re sure Bandai Namco will pull the trigger on the 411 when we least expect it. Honestly, that’s the best kind of surprise.
For more details on the game, visit Bandai Namco’s official website, or drop by their Facebook page.