[This story contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s “Normal Amount of Rage.”]
Now that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has premiered on Disney+, Tatiana Maslany’s Jen Walters/She-Hulk has officially broken the fourth wall in the MCU before Deadpool. It’s quite fitting since She-Hulk managed the fourth wall jump onto the Merc with a Mouth in the comics as well. So Maslany can’t help but admit that she’s at least a little proud that she’s prevailed over fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds and his upcoming MCU debut as Deadpool. (At the series’ global press conference, director Kat Coiro, head writer Jessica Gao, and Maslany reveled in the swagger of the comic iteration.)
“Yes, that was all I needed. That’s why I took this part. I just wanted to hit [Deadpool]’ Maslany joked to .
However, Maslany definitely wants to turn her character’s fourth wall tendencies into an ongoing duel with Deadpool. “This would be so nice. We’re both trying to fight for fourth wall supremacy, and who owns the fourth wall anymore? I think he would win, but I would take him,” says Maslany.
In a recent chat with THR, Maslany also opened up about the untitled cameo in episode three and how it was one of the biggest moments of her career.
On orphan blackYou’ve played 17 characters, more or less, and on this show you only play two. Does Jen Walters and She-Hulk feel like a walk in the park compared to that previous experience?
(laughs) Yes, sure. It’s much easier to play two characters. But at the same time, Orphan Black has given me such a playground to stretch those muscles of differentiation character and make me feel like there are so many possibilities of what a single person can be. So I need to take that to this character, She-Hulk, and explore her in a more internal way. As much as her transformation is visible on the outside, her inside remains the same, and that’s a minor difference. It’s almost the opposite of the characters on Orphan Black.
Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer “Jen” Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. Disney+
Generally when you first go Orphaned and then you only played one character, was that irritating at first? Have you felt like you haven’t done enough in a while?
No, because I did theatre. I wanted to do an Off-Broadway play called Mary Page Marlowe, written by Tracy Letts. Tracy is just an amazing writer and I’ve worked with Lila Neugebauer who is a great director. I never choose a part for convenience. There’s always something that challenges me, and whether it’s the medium, getting back on stage for the first time in 15 years, or whatever it was, there’s always something that makes me feel like this is that Hardest thing I have ever experienced is done.
So Jen’s fourth wall material is so much fun as she comments on recasts, cameo fixes and twitter armor. Are you just thrilled that you’ve beaten your compatriot Ryan Reynolds to the point of breaking the fourth wall in the MCU?
(laughs) Yes, that was all I needed. That’s why I took this part. I just wanted to hit [Deadpool].
Are you hoping to have a fourth wall duel with his Deadpool character someday? I suppose you could bring down fourth wall moments on each other.
This would be so nice. We’re both trying to fight for fourth wall supremacy, and who owns the fourth wall anymore? I think he would win but I would take him. (Laughs.)
[Writer’s Note: The next question and answer contains mild spoilers for episode two.]
Are you surprised you got away with a nod to a specific recast?
That was a Mark [Ruffalo] at will! That really is the world of this show. It’s as meta as you can get, and what’s more meta than discussing the fact that the Hulk is in it [The Incredible Hulk (2008)] was played by a completely different actor? There are so many layers.
Your “ha!” rounded it off perfectly.
Oh good!
(L-R): Mark Ruffalo as Smart Hulk/Bruce Banner and Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer “Jen” Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Disney+
I also appreciated the “I’m being shown” line as Bruce tries to instill wisdom in Jen, and at today’s press conference I was surprised to learn that you really didn’t seek advice from Mark Ruffalo on playing a Hulk character .
Yes, I ignored him. I didn’t look him in the eye when we worked together. (laughs) Mark is a wonderful person. He’s just so amazing and the only thing he ever did was make me feel like everything I did was right. He’s very generous, and we really had to be like two big babies playing superheroes together in those pajama suits. It was, in a way, total time for play and total imagination, and when can adults do that?
The series starts with this question, but in the real world, when someone has gained powers like Jen, do you think they have a responsibility to help others?
Yes, I feel like we see it all the time when the people who hold the most power delegate responsibility to some other place, in a sense that they shirk their responsibility and maybe do things that aren’t really that Serving the common good, but stemming from their own motivation. The thesis as a beginning is also the core of Jen’s whole conflict. The outside perception of their power is one thing, but their own sense of their power and embodiment is another. And it’s not necessarily something that comes at the moment it takes her to become a Hulk. It’s something she’s learning to deal with, and of course when someone hasn’t had power their entire life and suddenly they’re looking for whatever, it’s going to be a shaky journey.
(L-R): Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer “Jen” Walters, Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki Ramos, and Drew Matthews as Dennis Bukowski in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. Disney+
Have you adopted the cheetos and chopsticks lifehack?
(laughs) I wish I could say I like Cheetos. I just don’t like her. You got my heart racing over that tartrazine or whatever it is.
Did you ban Marvel Studios from releasing the behind-the-scenes footage of episode three’s dance-related tag?
No, I want that out! I really want everyone to see it because it was the greatest day of my life. It was the greatest moment of my life.
Even in a mo cap suit?
Especially in the mo cap suit! There’s no way I’m going to feel cool when I face the most beautiful cool person in the world. There’s just no way. So if I can look like a little kid dancing in my pajamas, that’s fine with me. As long as I can dance with her, I’m happy.
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She-Hulk is now streaming on Disney+. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.