Becoming a green, jacked-up, double-the-size version of yourself can’t be easy, but Tatiana Maslany has taken the challenge in stride for her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as She-Hulk in the upcoming Disney Plus show She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.
In an interview with TVLine, the Canadian actress, best known for her several clone performances in Orphan Black, shared some insight on what it is like to play a character so different from her real-life appearance.
“There’s definitely a transformation that happens, but I don’t actually get to feel it” she started. Maslany, much like the majority of actors in the MCU, wears a motion capture suit throughout most, if not all, of her scenes, in order to be transformed into her super-powered character in post-production. When it comes to She-Hulk, even the place where her head, and therefore the rest of her body, will actually be in the final version of the scene differs from where Maslany, who is half the size of her character, moves within the frame.
“You know, if I look in the mirror I don’t look and see She-Hulk and go like, ‘Oh yeah, I am her’. I see this little grey person in a helmet.”
This is far from being Maslany’s first rodeo when it comes to intricate computer-generated imagery, however. For the 36-year-old actress, playing 14 different characters on Orphan Black — of which five had to constantly interact on screen — gave her a special kind of know-how in preparation for her take on the MCU’s newest gamma-infected giant. “Orphan Black certainly prepared me for a sense of how do you move through a very technical blocking and a technical performance requirement, but also have spontaneity, and be in the moment, and be present,” she said, calling the experience “a great training ground” for She-Hulk.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law premieres on Disney Plus on Aug. 19. Joining Maslany as the titular character are Mark Ruffalo and Charlie Cox, reprising their MCU roles as Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, and Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, respectively.