‘She-Hulk’ addresses ‘fitting in’ among all walks of life

Maslany discovered she moves differently through the world and, often, has to deal with unexpected barriers.

“It’s much harder for a woman who is 6’7” to be cast because of our limited view of what an actor is supposed to look like or how tall they’re supposed to be,” she says. “She was amazing.”

Thanks to special effects, the Emmy winner can play both ends of the size spectrum. Jennifer Walters, the attorney who’s related to the Hulk, doesn’t get the special power until an accident happens and she’s blessed with her cousin’s blood.

Then, he runs her through a Hulk’s paces. In the new comedy, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” Maslany tries to make the best of both worlds.

“That conflict is so fun to navigate because Jen has worked really hard to get where she is as a lawyer,” Maslany says. “And to have this thing happen to her that sort of derails everything, it’s a bit of an identity crisis. She’s treated very differently when she’s She-Hulk than when she’s Jen.”

She-Hulk inspires awe; Walters has to fight for respect. “Jen has a conflict with that,” Maslany says. “It’s really at odds with how she wants to be perceived.”

Viewers will note how outside forces affect that perception. “Just dressing up changes the way you’re perceived,” director/executive producer Kat Coiro says. “Your status in your job changes the way that you’re perceived. What she’s dealing with are these issues that we all deal with, just on a very extreme level.”

Co-workers, friends and family treat She-Hulk differently than Jennifer.

To add to the effect, Maslany often turns to the audience and comments on those situations. “She-Hulk was breaking the fourth wall way before ‘Deadpool,’ way before ‘Fleabag,’” Coiro says. “Back in the comics, she was always very meta. She was always taking control of her story and her narrative.”

In the series, there’s also a CGI (computer-generated imagery) element that enables Maslany and Mark Ruffalo (who plays the Hulk) to look like big green superheroes. The two wear motion-capture suits and have cameras in their faces but are expected to interact with other, non-CGI performers.

“There’s something about the tech that makes us feel like we don’t fit in the world,” Maslany says. “We’re in these little gray suits with the cameras in front of our faces. There’s something that actually informs the characters. We’re not in super-cool super suits. We don’t feel cool.”

Because he has been playing the Hulk for more than a decade, Ruffalo was able to mentor Maslany through the changes – just as his Bruce Banner helps Jennifer.

The actors got along so well, producers decided to play off their chemistry and add to the banter.

“There are things they can relate to, but, ultimately, they are different people who are experiencing (the Hulk changes) in very different ways,” says Jessica Gao, the show’s head writer and executive producer.

“Her anger, her large-ness – all of that is fertile ground to play with,” says Maslany. “You can laugh at it, but you’re also aware that it’s like the truth or every woman walking into a space. That sort of duality of her two bodies I find so compelling.”

When Maslany is a scene with another actor, she’s usually standing on a platform and can’t look into the person’s eyes. “It’s discombobulating, but it helps bring Jen into this place where she’s like, ‘I can’t connect with anybody…I don’t know who I am.’ That stuff really helped to sync me into a different physicality.”

“She-Hulk: Attorney at Loaw” begins Aug. 18 on Disney+.