‘She-Hulk’: Tatiana Maslany Says ‘There Was a Little Skepticism’ About Her Playing Jennifer Walters

Tatiana Maslany has proved thus far that she is the perfect casting for Jennifer Walters/ She-Hulk in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. She handles the comedy very well while also portraying a character who wants to be taken seriously. However, Maslany admits she was initially skeptical about playing Jennifer because she had not done a lot of comedy before this series. 

Tatiana Maslany has had prior success on other television shows

Before being cast as Jennifer in She-Hulk, many casual viewers may not have been aware of Tatiana Maslany. Maslany has been acting in movies and television since the late 1990s. While she appeared in more minor and guest roles in shows such as Parks and Recreation, her big break came in 2013 when she starred in Orphan Black. Maslany received three Emmy nominations for her leading role performance, winning the award in 2016. 

In movies, she has appeared in several, including The Vow and Woman in Gold. Her most prolific movie role is in 2017’s Stronger alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Her role as She-Hulk is her biggest one so far (literally) and will most likely turn her into a global star. 

Tatiana Maslany was skeptical about playing She-Hulk

While Tatiana Maslany has been in many projects, She-Hulk is the first to lean heavily on comedy. In an interview with The Jess Cagle Podcast With Julia Cunningham, Maslany says she was skeptical about playing this role since she had never done a lot of comedy before. 

“I’ve never really done a comedy, so I think there was a little skepticism that I could do that,” Maslany says. 

She auditioned for the role via Zoom due to the pandemic. Luckily, she had other comedic talents reading the lines alongside her, making her more confident in her audition. 

“It’s odd, but I had really great readers with me, like these great comedians and actors,” Maslany explains. “You know, it was COVID, so I was desperate for connection. So, I guess we reached each other. We made it work.”

Maslany wanted to make sure Jennifer remained a lawyer 

While She-Hulk is considered a superhero TV show, Tatiana Maslany thought it was intriguing how the character balanced being both a lawyer and a superhero. In the series, Jennifer has little interest in being a superhero and wants to make it clear she’s still a lawyer, despite her superhuman abilities. 

“She’s a great lawyer who has worked her butt off to get to the point she’s at because I think Jen gets dismissed very easily, even though she’s incredibly smart and incredibly good at what she does,” Maslany shares. “She’s constantly having to prove herself, so she works doubly hard to do so. And so her contending with being She-Hulk in the courtroom where she sort of gets a free pass to her power and to her position just by being a superhero. There’s all kinds of interesting things that we play with in there, but I also think just calling it She-Hulk: Attorney At Law takes it out of this superhero thing and is like, ‘No, she’s actually a lawyer,’ and that is sort of what Jen is constantly doing throughout the show.”

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is streaming on Disney+.