‘She-Hulk’ star admits struggles in working with CGI

Ah, the wonders of movie magic; we all remember the first time we found ourselves in a movie theater, having no way of knowing that our minds were about to get blown by how real the dinosaurs, aliens, or giant spiders looked on the big screen. Conversely, perhaps we also all remember the first time we felt physically ill after looking at the very same wonders wrapped up in pitiful CGI graphics (looking at you, The Mummy Returns). Indeed, movie magic is responsible for some of the most entertaining highs and lows in the history of entertainment.

Disney Plus’ latest MCU venture, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, seemed destined to find itself at the latter end of the effects spectrum, with Twitter having torn into the CGI in the show’s trailers more than once. Thankfully, the final product seems to have cleaned itself up, but that doesn’t mean the CGI headaches didn’t prevail in some areas.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Ginger Gonzaga, who plays the JenniferWalters/She-Hulk’s best friend Nikki Ramos in the series, explained her awkward struggles in making it seem like she was speaking to the six-foot-seven heroine instead of frequent scene partner Tatiana Maslany, who plays Walters/She-Hulk.

“What I always joke is that the eyeline is up here on like a little green alien suspended above her head. But I want to, as any human would, I want to talk to her face – I want to talk to Tatiana. But if I, Ginger, the actor, do that, then in post-production it looks like Nikki is just talking to Jen’s boobs.”

She would go on to explain the curious solution to the obstacles they faced, as well as how Maslany’s approach to acting went a long way in helping the team succeed.

“So a lot of times they would go to the extra mile to build these really elaborate lifts for her and then that confines her to where she can walk. So if she’s walking to her office, she has to be on this little like, you know, balance beam almost, that we made for her. But Tatiana is very physical and she knows exactly which physicality she’s doing when she’s Jen or when she’s She-Hulk. So just her physicality and her posture, I can see it in my peripheral vision even if I can’t act with her eyes, and I know ‘Oh, there’s She-Hulk’, and I’ve only just now been able to see it and it’s so weird.”

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available to stream on Disney Plus. New episodes will premiere every Thursday until October 13.