Tatiana Maslany also revealed that she and Mark Ruffalo “don’t feel cool” while filming scenes for their characters
Mark Ruffalo and Tatiana Maslany had a remarkable connection while filming She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
During a TCA panel discussion for Disney+’s superhero show, the executive producers, Kat Coiro and Jessica Gao, shared how they believed Ruffalo, 54, had served as somewhat of a mentor to leading character Maslany, 36, during filming.
While discussing the topic with the actress and the audience, Coiro said Ruffalo, 54, had “been playing this role for a decade. Hulk has been Hulk for a long time; you [Maslany] were new to it.”
“But then he came in and was so open to this new genre, and so, you know, deferential to you because you’ve been doing it and there were all these little life imitating art moments that I think helped your guys’ relationships as actors but also really informed the characters,” Coiro explained. “You and Mark had so many little connections.”
Agreeing with the statement, Gao, 38, added: “I really mirrored what was happening in the script, the dynamic, but also I have to say, I mean, it really is a testament to how present you and Mark were like, every minute of it.”
“Because to have all the accouterment there and having a camera dangling in front of your face, but still just being very real and with each other,” the TV writer said. “And when we watched you guys, it really felt like, ‘Oh, these two are cousins who have been bickering for years at every family reunion.’ Together.”
“And to the point where you two inspired additions to the script,” noted Coiro. “I remember the first day you guys were together and playing off each other and we were like, ‘Oh, we need to see more of this.’ And it led to building out the montage that is in the trailer a lot … that was really based on your guys’ chemistry and your energy.”
During the chat, Maslany also shared her own experience filming with Ruffalo, noting that their characters as She-Hulk and Hulk “sort of feel like outsiders.”
“They do kind of feel like they don’t fit in the world,” she elaborated. “You know like we’re sort of in these little gray suits with a camera in front of our faces. And there’s something that informs the character through that we’re not in like, super cool super-suits.”
“We don’t feel cool. So there’s something about that feels okay to me,” she added.
In addition to working with Ruffalo, Maslany said she also got a chance to learn from a 6’7″ actress named Malia, who was hired to double as She-Hulk.
“It was always fun to kind of have say, ‘Hey, Malia, could you please sit in that chair so we can watch?'” Coiro recalled. “And seeing just how she moved through the world as a woman who was six-foot-seven.”
“And talking to her about it, too,” added Maslany. “She’s an actor and it’s it’s much harder for a woman who’s six-foot-seven to to be cast because their limited view of what an actor is supposed to look like, or how tall they’re supposed to be… it was it was really great. I mean, she was amazing. She was awesome.”
In the upcoming series, Maslany portrayed Jennifer Walters — a woman who becomes She-Hulk when she gets angry but remains a normal 30-something lawyer when she’s not.
The first trailer of the show that was released in May showed Jennifer questioning her powers and wishing for some kind of normalcy despite there being some benefits to her tapping into her super strength.
The nine-episode series will also feature some friendly Marvel faces, including Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/the Abomination and Benedict Wong as Wong. Each episode will air weekly.
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