She-Hulk Director Kat Coiro Dishes On Mark Ruffalo, Tatiana Maslany, And That Twerking Scene - Exclusive Interview
Outside of "WandaVision," most Marvel Cinematic Universe shows have leaned into drama territory rather than comedy — until "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law." It was only natural that a comedy tycoon would helm directing for a significant number of episodes: namely, one through four, eight, and nine. Before landing her gig on "She-Hulk," Kat Coiro directed an episode of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Shameless," "Modern Family," and "Girls 5eva." She has also directed five episodes of "The Mick" and four episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" — both starring Kaitlin Olson.
Coiro doesn't only direct TV shows, either. She helmed the Peacock film "Marry Me," starring Jennifer Lopez as Kat and Owen Wilson as Charlie — and Coiro even worked with "She-Hulk" actor Jameela Jamil (who plays Titania) during filming.
Coiro spoke to Looper for an exclusive interview where she dished on the biggest stars of "She-Hulk," the show's many cameos, and that hilarious twerking scene with Megan Thee Stallion.
Hulk has entered the chat
There are a ton of comedic moments between Bruce and Jen at the beginning of this show. What were some of the highlights of working with Mark [Ruffalo] and getting him to sign on in such a significant capacity to jumpstart the Hulk aspect of the show? Did Mark and Tatiana [Maslany] get the opportunity to improv or ad-lib at all?
It's funny when people talk about Mark as a cameo because that is a lot of Hulk in that first episode. And it's a lot of Hulk in a way we haven't seen him, which is in these small, intimate, dialogue-driven scenes. Mark is a dream of an actor, and he's so open and so expressive. Even though he's been playing the role for a decade, he came in with totally new, fresh eyes. [He] and Tatiana had this remarkable chemistry together that felt very much like a big brother [and] little sister and was very playful. We actually capitalized on their chemistry and let it inform the episode.
Jameela Jamil: super influencer
Jameela Jamil is iconic as the influencer villain Titania. Why was she the right person for this role? What do you think she brings to the character?
I actually cast Jameela in my film "Marry Me" in a very small part. I remember the first time I went into a costume fitting with her, my jaw actually dropped because she is so larger than life, and her presence and her charisma [are] almost superhuman. When I saw the role of Titania, I actually knew there was nobody else.
But I had to talk her into it a little bit because she, for whatever reason, didn't feel like she should be a part of MCU. She was afraid of doing action, but really, there's nobody else who could play that social media influencer, understand it on a fundamental level, but also be totally willing to poke fun at it at the same time.
She-Hulk twerking at law
Actors like Tim Roth and Charlie Cox are reprising their roles after quite a bit of time has passed. Cox had a mini cameo in "Spider-Man," but did it take any coaxing to get them back into character, or did they pick it up like no time had passed?
They're both such strong actors, and they came in with such strong points of view because they'd been playing these roles for significantly longer than we were operating in [the] "She-Hulk" world. But very quickly, they adapted to this new tone that was more comedic than what they'd been used to. I remember the only question all of the existing MCU characters asked me was, "Can I go this far? Am I going too far?" I'd always say, "Go as far as you want. This really is a half-hour comedy."
Tatiana has a hilarious twerking scene with Megan Thee Stallion. How did Megan come on board to the show? Are there any fun stories from her time on set?
The character was scripted as a celebrity who we never in a billion years would believe would date Dennis Bukowski. It was actually Jameela [Jamil] who said, "What do you think of Megan Thee Stallion?" We all went crazy, but the person who went the craziest was Tatiana, because she's a genuine fan. Initially, She-Hulk and Megan weren't meant to interact, but because of [Tatiana's] love for Megan, the writers added the twerking scene at the very last minute. That's when we learned that Tatiana is a genuinely amazing twerker.
New episodes of "She-Hulk" stream Thursdays on Disney+.
This interview was edited for clarity.