Tatiana Maslany did a masterful job bringing Jen Walters to life inShe-Hulk, but she and the VFX team weren’t the only ones responsible for the Glam-azon’s performance in the Marvel Studios Disney+ series. Standing at 6’5’’, Malia Arrayah was the on-set reference for She-Hulk, mimicking Maslany’s every move and mannerisms.
Arrayah spoke toScreen Rantabout the journey that led to her being a part of bringing the MCU’s newest hero to life. As a long-time fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actress also went into detail about which pinch-me moment with an MCU star left her in awe.
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Many MCU fans must wonder what it means to be She-Hulk’s body reference, and Arrayah was candid in the preparation it took for. From studying Maslany’s every move to preparing with theelaborate Marvel Studios stunt team, the performer became her own kind of hero on set.
Malia Arrayah Talks She-Hulk
Screen Rant: First of all, congratulations.She-Hulk is amazing. It's my favorite Disney+ show, top to bottom. How did you become a part of She-Hulk?
Malia Arrayah: I signed with an agency called Oh So Small. The reason why I signed with them is that they're an extreme height actors' agency, and somebody referred me to them that's also very, very tall. Then she sent me a screen test to do in October 2020. At the time, I had no idea.
When I walked into the screen test, I knew it was for Marvel, but I didn't know which character. I didn’t have any idea this character had to be tall because I'm a giant person. Then it started slowly coming together during that screen test where they had a bunch of props out, and they had She-Hulk items out, and I was like, "Oh, cool." I did that in October 2020, and I didn't hear anything back for months until January 2021. They gave me a call, and I accepted.
Were you already familiar with the character before getting the role of She-Hulk?
Malia Arrayah: No. Not at all. I wish, because she's such a cool character, honestly. I love powerful female characters. I was very surprised that I didn't hear about her at that time, because I was like, "I can't believe I haven't seen these cartoons before." I have been a Marvel fan since I was a kid, and I've watched all the movies and most of the cartoons.
Back in the day, Lou Ferrigno was the physical embodiment of the Incredible Hulk. The physical performance is just as important as the other performance that Tatiana Maslany did. Can you talk to me about what it's like to embody She-Hulk physically?
Malia Arrayah: I had a muscle suit to wear, but I knew that the character of She-Hulk would be somebody that's very physically strong. I had to embody that. I had to walk confidently. For somebody like me, just in my personal life, some part of my story felt like more of a metaphor. I had to learn how to love myself and work on self-acceptance and self-esteem for a long time.
When I heard that they wanted me to do this, I was like, "This is such a cool, cool thing to happen for my life right now." Because now I'm feeling empowered within myself. She-Hulk has to be empowered because she's so naturally strong. She doesn't take anything from anybody. She's walking around with her big muscles throughout the show; [I'm] walking through the set and having people [in awe]. I'm in makeup and having people staring like, "Wow."
I just asked myself, "How would she walk? How would she move?" And then at the same time, I had a lot of people to learn from and people guiding me to help. If I were standing, I think there was a point where I was asked to stand up straighter because, naturally, I'm usually really casual. But she's like, "Let's go. I'm ready." I think that was it. It's just a mental state, and I realized that I started to gather more confidence as the show went on. Just because it's naturally her; she's just naturally confident and is like, "Okay!"
Did you work with Tatiana Maslany to study or emulate her mannerisms or physicality at all?
Malia Arrayah: Throughout the show, I was asked to sit as close as I could to the monitor. I often sat either right next to the set with my own monitor or at the monitors with the producers and the writers watching. As soon as they ended her slate, they would go into different slates and then say, “Malia pass.” That was my turn. I had to go and do exactly her movements.
If she left a certain way, they would be like, "Malia, make that." I was always having to make sure I was watching her, so I got her body moves. If she added a few jabs in there or something, I would try to do that. There were a lot of times when she did do some things where I had to pay attention. Because she adds a lot of her personal flare and style into the characters, which I love. I had to make sure that I was paying attention so I could do that too.
She-Hulk has a ton of MCU actors that have been heroes for years, like Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Wong, and Charlie Cox. What did you learn from working with them?
Malia Arrayah: Oh my gosh, I learned so much from everybody. I can't believe I was sitting in the same area with them. They're veterans, and I was just mostly observing. What I usually do is just observe how people interact with each other. Since this is the biggest set I've ever been on, I wanted to learn how people who are so good at what they do [act].
How do they interact? What do they do when they're on set to prepare, or are they in character already? It was a lot of me just observing and understanding people’s work differently. Some people can be very friendly and talkative, and then other actors are more introverted and have their character come out right when the scene comes. It's very interesting to me because there are different processes. I feel like these guys are so professional; they've done it for so long that they have their process down, and I feel like I'm just learning the steps to figure out my process.
It's nice to see different actors and actresses show up on to set in their unique ways. I just kind of took it in all the information and was learning. This is how certain people act, and this is how okay actors can do that. All of it, to be honest, was very interesting to me.
What was it like working with Tatiana Maslany and her stunt double and the stunt team to create a cohesive physical character?
Malia Arrayah: The stunt team is phenomenal. I was just in a state of learning as fast as I could and making sure I did what they wanted. I want them to get what they want, and I want to do my best, and I also want to learn. The stunt team was fantastic. I would show up to set and sometimes Matt Labard, who's the stunt double for She-Hulk, and then Sarah Irwin, and then Monique Anderson helped me. If there were something that I needed to do regarding choreography, either Matt, Sarah, or Monique would help show me the movements.
Most of the time, it was Matt, but he would show me the movements right before my slate, and I would go on and try to do them. There were a lot of times it was tricky, but it was so much fun. I have a background in athletics and some martial arts, so it wasn't super foreign. I did realize that stunt acting is so intricate, and these stunt people are just phenomenal to me. I think they're so cool.
What's the difference between a reference in a courtroom or office scene versus a superhero scene?
Malia Arrayah: Let’s see, the office scenes have no stunt unit. If there's an action sequence, the stunt unit's usually there. They'll go do the scene, and then the stunt unit either will have a whole other day of production, or a different part of the production where we would do that again. It’s just more physicality, more physical work, and more physical actions.
There's one scene where we fight demons, and Matt guided me through that. I did get to fight demons, so that was fun. That was very physical. I had to stand up on the floor; get on the floor and just fight and throw and stuff. It's very different, but a lot more physical than doing an office scene where I would just be required to basically sit there and do her movements and walk in, and either be with the actors while we're doing that or by myself. However, the production wanted to shoot it at the time.
What was your favorite scene to run through in the course of the series?
Malia Arrayah: One of my favorite scenes was when I got to work with Mr. Benedict Wong while fighting the demons. I've only seen him on television and in movies. When I met him, I was like, "This is insane. This is nuts. This is so cool." I got to stand there while he was talking to She-Hulk. I was She-Hulk. He was like, "Can she come here and I talk to her?" I was just standing ther, and he was running through his lines. I thought, "This man is so amazing. He's saying his lines to She-Hulk but looking right at me. This is so cool. I can't even believe I'm here." That was a definite highlight for me. He, at one point, turned to me and said, "Welcome to the MCU."
I love that. That's such a fan moment. What's been the most surprising part of being the on set She-Hulk reference that fans might not know about?
Malia Arrayah: What first popped into my head would be how many times I would have to go to the scan truck to get her clothes scanned. I would never have known about this unless I had been there. After every day of set or during the day of set, if you had a clothing change for the character, we would go into a VFX scan truck, and they would scan her outfit every day. That was interesting.
What do you hope people take away from She-Hulk?
Malia Arrayah: I hope people take away a new sense of adventure. Just kind of delving into a new character's story and wanting to feel exploration, and a feeling of wanting to see the MCU continue to expand and learn about different characters. I think that she's a very inspirational and interesting character that a lot of people can relate to. What she has to experience as a 30-something-year-old single dating; a lot of us can relate to the woes of dating in our thirties. I think that's something that people can relate to. Just going along with a new exciting character and an expanding universe and seeing what other adventures they will have. So mostly a sense of adventure.
Right. Speaking of adventure, what other MCU actor would you like to work with a potential second season or a different MCU project, and what project would you want to do next, too?
Malia Arrayah: It would be really interesting to see She-Hulk with Ms. Marvel because Ms, Marvel [just] happens to find her powers. I think there's kind of a similar sense of excitement. For Jen, her powers are new, and she's She-Hulk. They're both embodying these new senses of power, and they realize [it within] themselves. I would be very interested in [seeing them in] the same vicinity and seeing what would happen.
About She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows Jennifer Walters as she navigates the complicated life of a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch superpowered hulk.
Check out our otherShe-Hulkinterviews here:
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All episodes ofShe-Hulk: Attorney at Laware available to stream on Disney+.
