The Paramount+ adaptation of Halo returns for its second season in 2024. As Master Chief prepares to defend humanity against the Covenant, Halo Season 2 features a mix of returning major characters and new faces. Here are all the major actors and the cast list for Halo Season 2.
Every Major Actor & Cast List for Halo Season 2
Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief
Reprising the iconic role of John-117, a soldier trained in the elite Spartan program and holding the rank of Master Chief, is Pablo Schreiber. After coming into contact with a Forerunner relic, Master Chief regained some of his free will, reclaiming his identity as John and constantly taking off his helmet. As John leads a contingent of soldiers, dubbed Silver Team, the escalating war against the Covenant is poised to escalate to dangerous new levels.
Acting since 2001, Schreiber first gained widespread attention for his recurring role as Nick Sobotka in the second season of The Wire. Schreiber’s biggest role prior to joining the cast of Halo was playing the antagonistic corrections officer Pornstache in Orange Is the New Black, earning him an Emmy Award nomination. Among Schreiber’s more prominent cinematic projects include roles in 2018’s First Man and Skyscraper.
Natascha McElhone as Catherine Halsey
Much of Halo hinges on the machinations of the constantly scheming Doctor Catherine Halsey, played by Irish actor Natascha McElhone. A high-level UNSC scientist, Halsey personally oversaw the Spartan program, including the recruitment of John-117 and the creation of the Cortana artificial intelligence. After the full extent of her illicit experiments is discovered by the UNSC at the end of Season 1, Halsey flees from the colony on Reach and remains on the run.
McElhone has been working professionally since 1990, with numerous roles in British and Irish television, film, and stage projects. McElhone made a splash with American audiences with a major role in 1998’s The Truman Show, followed by a memorable appearance later that year in Ronin. Outside of being part of the cast of Halo, McElhone has had starring roles in television shows like Californication, Designated Survivor, and the penultimate season of The Crown.
Jen Taylor as Cortana
Master Chief is far from alone in his fight against the Covenant, accompanied by the artificial intelligence program Cortana implanted directly into his brain. Modeled after the brain patterns of Dr. Halsey, Cortana provides invaluable battlefield optimization and support to Master Chief as she navigates her own journey towards self-identity and sentience. Halo Season 2 sees Master Chief and Cortana balance their partnership even more as the pair face greater odds, with humanity’s fate at stake.
Jen Taylor has been playing Cortana ever since the start of the franchise with 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, reprising her role, along with performing motion capture, for the Paramount+ series. Beyond Halo, Taylor has played numerous Nintendo icons, including Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Toad, Toadette, and Birdo, for games published by Nintendo from 1997-2010.
Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha
One of the most prominent new characters created specifically for the Halo series is Kwan Ha, played by Australian actor Yerin Ha. At the start of the series, Yerin lives in a settlement on the planet Madrigal, located at the fringes of humanity’s colonization of outer space. With her father, Jin, a major insurrectionist against the UNSC, Yerin is similarly labeled an enemy when she refuses to comply before being saved by John-117’s growing conscience.
Being part of the cast of Halo marks Ha’s biggest role to date, with her television acting career beginning in 2019 with the short-lived ABC series Reef Break. Ha also has main cast roles on the Australian television series Troppo and Bad Behaviour. In 2022, Ha made her cinematic debut with the independent Australian horror movie Sissy.
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Joseph Morgan as James Ackerson
Among the biggest characters introduced in Halo Season 2 is James Ackerson, played by Joseph Morgan. A cunning intelligence officer, Ackerson rose through the ranks of the UNSC to become a pivotal figure within the Office of Naval Intelligence. Calculating and decisive, Ackerson is only interested in playing well with others if it gets the job done quickly and efficiently.
Morgan got his big break playing Tom Riddle in 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, menacing the boy wizard as a younger iteration of the franchise’s primary antagonist. Morgan later played Klaus Mikaelson on the popular television series The Vampire Diaries, a role he reprised on subsequent spinoff series The Originals and Legacies. Recently, Morgan appeared as the villainous Sebastian Blood in the fourth and final season of Titans.
Bokeem Woodbine as Soren
While Spartan trainees were subjected to harsh treatment and intense mental conditions and had their individuality severely suppressed, they still retained their humanity. While training to become the greatest soldier in the galaxy, John-117 befriended a fellow Spartan recruit, Soren-066. Running away from the UNSC rather than enduring its cruel training any longer, Soren reunites with John years later in Halo Season 1. Soren has since become a leader in the rebellion against the UNSC, residing with his family on a converted asteroid.
Bokeem Woodbine plays Soren and has steadily appeared in major film and television projects after beginning acting in 1992. Woodbine appeared in guest roles on television throughout the ‘90s and 2000s, including appearances in The X-Files and The Sopranos. After appearing as the Shocker in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Woodbine catapulted into even more prominent roles. This includes a memorable appearance as Sheriff Domingo in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Halo Season 2 begins streaming Feb. 8 on Paramount+.
