You may be most familiar with seeing Tatiana Maslany looking a bit green these days, but don’t worry — the Canadian actor is only suffering from a fantastic upgrade in exposure. Roles don’t come much more incredible than playing the cousin of Bruce Banner.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law promises to bring Hulk-smashing and legal japes to Disney + this summer. It’s the closest we’ve come to a Marvel sitcom since Wandavision’s early misdirection, although it will be peppered with heavy-hitting action and connections to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ll have to wait to see how the show balances its elements, hopefully taking its lead from some of the snappiest storytelling in Marvel comics, and if it will play like a gamma-infused Ally McBeal. But true to the page, it looks like the lead character Jennifer Walters will balance her role as an attorney caught up in the American legal system’s attempts to deal with an explosion in super-powered villains and her transformation into the 6’ 7” green superhero.
She Hulking
Maslany’s inspired casting went down well with fans when she was announced as Walters in 2020. Since then, she’s taken center stage in trailers, holding her own against special guest Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk and controversial CGI. Of course, any good Hulk has to make the most of their extraordinary double-life, and we’ll meet Walters in her human and gamma forms. That means Maslany will have to navigate some fascinating performance and tonal shifts. Fortunately, she has a record of that, thanks to her eclectic and diverse acting career.
If you’re struggling to remember where you’ve seen her before, we’ve rounded up some of Maslany’s best-known roles on the road to the MCU.
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Maslany got to be a Romero Zombie! The horror maestro reset his Living Dead franchise with the fifth installment, returning to the start of the zombies last seen in Night of the Living Dead. Romero’s latter zombie movies may not be as well regarded as his early classics, but this role was a feather in 22-year-old Maslany’s cap. She plays Mary, one of the first of a group of film students to become infected during the mysterious outbreak.
Hunger Games (2008)
A bonus role as Katniss Everdeen? Although you may be most familiar with Jennifer Lawrence as the rebellious lead of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian YA epic Hunger games, Maslany narrated the complete trilogy for its audiobook release. Listeners praised the actor’s new depth to the story, particularly her spin on its heroine. A bonus version chucks in a Q&A with the actor-narrator too.
Being Erica (2009-2011)
Maslany appeared here as Sarah, the wayward and heroin-addicted daughter of Michael Riley’s Dr. Tom Wexlar, in this Canadian comedy-drama. You can catch her in the second year of the show’s four seasons. Another role built on her early years of comedy improvisation — a major reason for becoming the versatile performer she is today and why her casting as She-Hulk Jennifer Walters has gone down so well.
The Nativity (2010)
An early role was playing Mary, mother of Jesus, in the BBC’s four-part retelling of The Nativity. Vividly filmed in Morocco, the show received rave reviews for emphasizing the human relationships between its famous protagonists. Screened initially on concurrent days just before Christmas, it’s a format ready for some seasonal boxsetting.
Captain Canuck (2013)
Captain Canuck is a Canadian comic book superhero who first appeared in 1975, rejuvenating the country’s comic book industry. In 2013, the story was adapted for a five-episode animated web series with Kris Holden-Reid voicing the main character, Paul Amos as his enemy, Mr. Gold, and Maslany, as Redcoat, a military-trained British agent and trusted ally of Canuck.
Orphan Black (2013-2017)
Maslany’s breakthrough leading role was a transatlantic series, Orphan Black. Over five years, she picked up praise and awards in one of the most challenging roles on TV. Introduced as British con artist Sarah Manning, the show revealed a network of clones across the globe, with Maslany playing them all.
The show didn’t stop experimenting and relied on Maslany at the top of a great cast to hold the concept together. Their efforts earned a loyal fanbase called #CloneClub. It says something that many critics considered the years Maslany didn’t receive a Primetime Emmy nomination as a tremendous snub.
3:Below: Tales of Arcadia (2018-2019)
Animated series 3Below is the 26-part second chapter of Guillermo del Toro’s Tales of Arcadia trilogy and a great example of the prominent directors and talent that fill Maslany’s resume. Here, she starred alongside Diego Luna and Glenn Close as Crown Princess Aja Tarron, one of two regal siblings attempting to make a life in California while escaping fearsome bounty hunters. By the second season she was a queen, which sounds fair enough.
Perry Mason (2020)
Maslalny may have picked up some legal hints from this show, although she took the challenging role of Sister Alice McKeegan in the first season. As a preacher and leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, it was another barnstorming and emotional performance that has earned the show’s only award so far — as Supporting Actress in a Drama at the Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards.
HBO’s high-profile reboot of Perry Mason returned to the famed lawyer’s roots, introducing him as a washed-up private investigator struggling with the trauma of the Great War, a divorce, and Los Angeles in the aftermath of the Great Depression.
The Harper House (2021)
The Harper House was cancelled just one week after its first 10-episode season finished. It’s worth catching on Paramount+ as an attempt to push adult animated series in a different direction. It focused on Rhea Seehorn’s working mom Debbie Harper who’s forced to relocate her family to a dilapidated house in a run-down neighborhood of Arkansas and attempts to rebuild their life with some crazy schemes. Maslany played Ollie Harper, one of Debbie’s 11-year-old twins.
Heartland (2021)
This hugely successful Canadian series has run for 16 years on Canada’s CBC network. Adapted from Lauren Brooke’s Heartland books, it follows the story of sisters Amy and Lou Fleming on their Alberta horse ranch. Maslany appeared in two early series as Kit Bailey, a likeable local cowgirl and briefly girlfriend of ranch farmhand Ty Borden.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law streams exclusively on Disney+ from August 17, 2022.
