Jameela Jamil says she cannot believe she has gone “from Hollyoaks to Hollywood” as she prepares to join the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) for the upcoming She-Hulk series.
The English actress, 36, who began her career on Channel 4 as part of its T4 series, said the experience on the show had been “the surprise and joy of my life”.
She plays super-villain influencer Titania in the upcoming nine-part series, which also stars Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Wong.
Maslany plays the eponymous green hero Jennifer Walters, a cousin of Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, who must navigate the complicated life of a single, 30-something woman, who is also a six-foot seven super-powered Hulk.
Speaking at the series premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, Jamil also described how the series paid “homage” to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s popular comedy series Fleabag.
Watch out for Titania 📸 @JameelaJamil is on the scene! #SheHulk pic.twitter.com/N9WXZsrt8A
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) August 16, 2022
“I honestly have no idea what is going on. I can’t believe I’ve gone from saying ‘here’s Hollyoaks’ to being at a Marvel premiere,” Jamil told the PA news agency.
“This is so ridiculous, it’s way too much to handle.
“No one is more surprised than I am and I didn’t even know I was playing a super character until I got the job and signed the contract
“This has really been the surprise and joy of my life… Hollyoaks to Hollywood.”
On comparing the new series to Fleabag, she continued: “That’s a tricky comparison to make but I would say that we pay homage to Fleabag, because She-Hulk always broke the fourth wall.
“So we are very much trying to stay true to the comics and utilising Fleabag as an artistic and beautiful way of putting that in a cinematic universe.
She added: “It’s not as filthy as Fleabag, which is sad.”
Series writer Jessica Gao previously told PA how the writer’s room for She-Hulk was composed predominantly of women, and that Marvel boss Kevin Feige had given her “pretty much free reign” on the series.
“It feels different on set not to look out and see 99% men, it allows you to feel more authentic in your performance and supported by everyone around you,” Jamil told PA.
She-Hulk is turning Hollywood purple and green! 💜💚
Stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes look at the Launch Event for Marvel Studios’ #SheHulk: Attorney at Law. pic.twitter.com/b6ANoYikIm
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) August 16, 2022
“To know that a woman wrote this, two women directed this, the cast is majority female and so many of our department heads are women.
“We just felt very held, very understood and we knew via everyone’s reactions that we were telling the right stories authentically.”
She added: “There have been many beautiful stories about women written by men but they just can so rarely capture the experience because it is so vastly different and think a lot of men just don’t know for lack of experience.
“We aren’t trying to push people away, we’re trying to pull people in to be able to see our experiences and, similarly to the Hulk, hopefully stand alongside us.”
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law streams exclusively on Disney+ from Thursday August 18.