‘She-Hulk’ Star Rhys Coiro Reveals ‘Spontaneous’ Magic Behind Court Scenes

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Season 1, Episode 4, “Is This Not Real Magic?”]

She-Hulk‘s latest episode, “Is This Not Real Magic?” got caught up in the mystic arts with the introduction of magician Donny Blaze (Rhys Coiro).

Working as an entertainer at the “Mystic Castle,” Donny’s desire to impress the audience leads to some interesting choices as he employs some tricks Wong (Benedict Wong) once taught him. When those tricks disrupt Wong’s life (mainly his ability to binge The Sopranos spoiler-free), he seeks the help of Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) in order to prevent Donny from practicing the kind of dark magic he doesn’t understand how to control.

As the episode unfolds, Wong’s point is proven when Donny ends up opening a portal that allows demonic entities to breach their world. It’s up to She-Hulk and Wong to wrangle the creatures and save the potential fate of the world. It also makes convincing Donny to sign a cease and desist letter and give up the mystical side of his magic act.

(Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Disney+)

Below, Coiro opens up about embracing his magical side, discusses working with his costars and real-life wife/series director and executive producer Kat Coiro, as well as his deep dive into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Donny Blaze is a fun character, how was the role introduced to you and was he described as a Criss Angel/David Blaine type?

Rhys Coiro: I think those were the prototypes in a way. Those guys obviously are, you know, gold standards. I was fortunate enough to have a lot of preparation time, so I was able to really go deep into the magic and all that goes into it, all that it entails the history, which was necessary because I couldn’t have just walked on to set and done that role without it. So that was really fun and valuable for me.

Were you able to pick up any magical tips or tricks while training?

I wanted to do as many practical tricks on set, and I think that’s part of the fun of the character is knowing he’s living in this universe where there is actual magic. And the deception, that was really fun to learn those things. And there were so many moments that I was so pleased to add in [tricks] like the rabbit in the fabulous courtroom scene, and Benny Wong pulling the ball out of his mouth was something that was added in. There are so many moments of spontaneity that came out of preparation, having tricks that we’ve been working on and ideas that we’d been batting about. The spontaneous moments that made it into the final cut were really very satisfying as a performer.

(Credit: Disney+/Marvel)

Speaking of that courtroom scene, when you, Donny’s sidekick Cornelius, and the lawyer start doing magic tricks, I couldn’t stop laughing.

My sidekick, by the way, [is played by] Leon Lamar an amazing actor who is 104 years old.

One hundred and four?!

He’s 104 now. At the time of shooting, I guess he was only 102 or 103, but I believe he is now 104. He’s just a national treasure and one of my favorite things about being an actor is that familial bond that you develop with your fellow actors. And he and I had just had a great rapport between takes, I was just in a constant state of interviewing him, and learning about his amazing life. I mean, he didn’t even start acting until he was in his late seventies. He’s just completely in the moment. And Kat [Coiro] was adding lines for him in the spur of the moment. That character is so much more fleshed out in the final cut. It’s just lovely.

Donny is brought into the story when Wong decides to sue him. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of Wong’s fury? Especially because he’s such an MCU fan favorite.

As I mentioned before, Benny came up with tricks during the office scene. And he surprised us by revealing the ball in his mouth. He is so fantastic to watch perform. There’s no passivity. He’s so intense, even in moments where an actor might be doing nothing, he’s doing so much. I love working with him and watching him work. I mean, he’s a marvel, completely unique and fantastic.

(Credit: Disney+/Marvel)

Your real-life wife Kat Coiro is the director of this episode and an executive producer on the series. What was it like getting collaborate with her?

It was so wonderful. She had a very long prep for this. Her life and by extension our whole family’s life, we uprooted our kids and moved to Georgia long before shooting started. And the prep work that goes into a show like this is hard to conceive. She is so prepared and so meticulous in her preparation and also completely present and wonderful as a mother, she’s fantastic. Part of her preparation was to watch the whole Marvel canon in chronological order, and we did that together as a family. So I did feel extra prepared, which is always the best feeling when you go into a job.

You got to have the full MCU experience with an action sequence in the Mystic Castle. What was filming like for that?

That stage is maybe one of the most amazing sets I’ve ever been on. It was built by our amazing production designer Elena Albanese and the detail on it is staggering. It really adds to the quality at the end of the day. And it really is freeing to be crawling along the floor and dodging invisible demons with my 103-year-old scene partner. We were just having a blast, and I think that spirit comes through.

Between Cornelius, Donny, and Madisynn, this episode was a riot. Was it hard keeping the laughter at bay?

Yeah, I mean, Patty [Guggenheim] is fantastic. No one could stop laughing. Her testimony when she says, “you can drink it, I’m not sick.” These are lines that she was just adding. Her level of genius is staggering, it’s wonderful that she gets to put it on display. And I will say too, what’s fun about Donny, I think is that he’s not really an antagonist to Wong in the sense that Wong is his hero. He’s so impressed by him.

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One funny part of this episode is Madisynn repeatedly spoiling plot points from The Sopranos for Wong. Does this inclusion of the HBO series mean that your Entourage performance as Billy Walsh exists somewhere in the MCU?

That’s an interesting point. And isn’t it great? As a long-time fan of comics, there are so many tones within the universe. And there’s this cheeky [wink to pop culture]. It’s become this mythology for the world, and it’s such an honor to be a part of it in a small way. And I like that the HBO world is now acknowledged it’s really fun.

On a last note, is there some significance to the name Donny Blaze? Perhaps some relation to Johnny Blaze, a.k.a. Ghost Rider?

Names are powerful… And it’s no small thing to carry the name Blaze. It’s very fun, but who knows?

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, New Episodes, Thursdays, Disney+