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‘She-Hulk’ Star Tatiana Maslany Reveals How Late Musician Sophie Inspired the Superhero Role

EJ Panaligan
·3-min read

“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” star Tatiana Maslany says late experimental pop musician Sophie inspired her work as the green-skinned superhero.

“Musically, Sophie just lives in this place that I always want to live in, but there’s a poppiness and femininity combined with these clashing industrial sounds,” Maslany tells Variety about the parallels between Sophie’s music and playing the dual role of Jennifer Walters and She-Hulk. “Her music video ‘Faceshopping’ was all about skin, commodification of body and being separated into different parts, and that all felt thematically and spiritually connected.”

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The Grammy-nominated producer and musician died at 34 years old in January 2021 due to a climbing accident in Greece.

Variety caught up with Maslany and more “She-Hulk” talent at Monday’s green-and-purple carpet premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Billed as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first half-hour comedy, “She-Hulk” follows Maslany’s Jennifer Walters as she balances her promising law career with her reluctant foray into the superhero world when she becomes She-Hulk. Her two worlds gradually merge when she’s tapped to lead a newly-minted superhero division at a top law firm, but only as She-Hulk.

Series special guest star Ruffalo shared how Bruce Banner and Jennifer’s relationship mirrored his and Maslany’s. “We just had a great chemistry and friendship, we had the same sense of humor and we were both willing to goof off,” Ruffalo told Variety. “It was a great comedic duet.”

On the opposing end of She-Hulk’s superhero journey is Jameela Jamil’s Titania, a super-powered influencer villain who squabbles with Walters in court early in the series. “Titania is the biggest pain in She-Hulk’s ass, she’s messy and chaotic, very violent and egotistical,” Jamil said. “She’s your classic, run-of-the-mill, cliché L.A. influencer who is doing everything wrong possible with her privilege and platform. I think she could annoy you to death.”

Ginger Gonzaga talked about putting her personal stamp on playing Nikki Ramos, Walters’ best friend and paralegal. “[Show creator Jessica Gao] kept reworking [Nikki] for me and letting me improvise, so it very much pulled from myself in many ways — I got to style her clothes a lot with [‘She-Hulk’ costume designer] Ann Foley and do all my makeup looks,” Gonzaga said.

Gao said she was inspired by Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s acclaimed series “Fleabag” while writing scripts for “She-Hulk,” especially leaning into how both shows break the fourth wall.

“‘Fleabag’ was a raw and honest portrait of this woman in her life, warts and all, highs and lows,” Gao said. “At the lowest points, she was not afraid to be completely honest about everything that means, and the way she would share everything that would normally be kept internal was really inspirational for ‘She-Hulk.'”

“She-Hulk” begins streaming on Disney+ on Aug. 18, with new episodes streaming weekly.

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