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Movies & TV

22nd Jun 2022

WATCH: Halo star responds to the reaction to THAT sex scene

Stephen Porzio

The scene has proven quite controversial.

The hotly-anticipated first season of Halo, the new TV adaptation of the incredibly popular video game series, has finally premiered in Ireland.

In what should be great news for fans of the franchise, its first three episodes are now available to stream on Paramount+ – a new streaming service that just launched here on Wednesday (22 June).

In the run-up to Halo’s release in Ireland, JOE had the opportunity to chat with its star Pablo Schreiber, who you may also know from his work in other hit shows like American Gods, Orange is the New Black and The Wire.

The actor plays Master Chief in the series, a genetically engineered super-soldier fighting for humanity in a 26th-century war with aliens.

Though the show has received solid reviews and has already been renewed for a second season, one story beat that occurs later in its run has received a polarised response from fans of the franchise.

For those who don’t want it spoiled, turn away now.

Are you gone? Okay.

So, in episode eight of the series, Master Chief has sex with Makee (Love/Hate’s Charlie Murphy), a character created specifically for the series who is a human member of the Covenant – the military alliance of alien races.

The sex scene has proved controversial with some viewers arguing that having sex is completely out of character for Master Chief, who in the games is quite emotionless, rarely being seen without his armour and helmet.

JOE asked Schreiber about the reaction from Halo fans to the scene, to which he replied:

“We always knew that it was going to be an interesting ride releasing Halo to the general public. There’s a lot of Halo fans and there’s a lot of different opinions within the Halo community. We always knew that there was going to be a lot of noise outside.

“My job as an actor is to bring to life the vision of the showrunner and on season one, the showrunner was Steven Kane and it was my job to bring to life his vision for the show and I did my best for that.

“It’s a little funny to be talking in the midst of – we’re already up and running on season two and I’m in Budapest getting ready for it. We’re talking about season one now but I’m already well into the process of season two.

“And I’m working with this amazing showrunner David Wiener whose written the second season and I just love what he’s creating and it feels really appropriate to the material and he’s got a vision that I am really happy to bring to the screen.

“So, at the end of the day, that’s my job. I don’t make those decisions. Other people do and it’s my job to try to bring them to life as best as possible.”

You can check out JOE’s full interview with Schreiber below. The first three episodes of Halo are available to watch now on Paramount+ with new episodes every Wednesday.