Julia Garner responds to backlash over Silver Surfer gender-swap casting in ‘Fantastic Four'
The actress, 31, was recently asked about how she handled the backlash to her gender-swapped role as the Silver Surfer in 'Fantastic Four: First Steps.'
'Oh, well, you know. I said, 'I'm just going to still do my job,'' Garner told the BBC at the Marvel film's red carpet premiere in London on Thursday.
8 Julia Garner attends the 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' premiere in London on July 10.Garner also noted that she's portraying Shalla-Bal, a female iteration of the Silver Surfer, and not Norrin Radd, the male version of the character who was played Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne in 2007's 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.'
8 Julia Garner as Silver Surfer in 'Fantastic Four.'
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
'Also, it's Shalla-Bal, so it's different,' she explained.
Garner went on to acknowledge the Marvel fandom's massive hype for the film, which comes out later this month.
'I was just happy that people are resonating with it, just like any other project,' she shared. 'I'm grateful to be at this dance, to be completely honest with you.'
8 Julia Garner at the 'Fantastic Four' premiere in London.
Getty Images
8 Julia Garner attending the 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' premiere at London's BFI IMAX.
Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited
Garner's co-stars include Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch.
While speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the carpet, Garner reacted to her Silver Surfer voice going viral on the internet and launching a new TikTok trend.
8 Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer.
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
8 The 'Fantastic Four' cast attend CCXP Mexico 2025 on May 31.
Getty Images for Disney
'I was just acting and prepping,' the 'Ozark' alum stated. 'To be honest, I don't even have a TikTok, so my friends were sending me all these TikToks, and I couldn't even open it. So I'm just happy people are liking it.'
8 Julia Garner poses at the 'Fantastic Four' photocall in the UK on July 11.
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited
Back in April, Garner opened up about her shock at learning she was playing Silver Surfer when she met with director Matt Shakman.
'I was confused because I was like, 'Wait, isn't the Silver Surfer a man?'' she recalled to Entertainment Weekly. 'I was just like, 'Okay, well, I'll play anything.''
'I was a very big fan of Matt's, so there was already, in my mind, like, 'I should probably meet with Matt Shakman because he's a very smart director and I love his work.' And then he was explaining to me that it's actually Shalla-Bal and that whole thing,'' the three-time Emmy winner added.
8 Julia Garner takes pictures with fans at the 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' premiere on July 10.
Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/WireImage
Garner also spoke about how she prepped for the role in her first superhero movie.
'I knew who the Silver Surfer was, and I got to know the Silver Surfer more when I signed on to the project,' she shared. 'I really dived in. I read a lot of the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer comics before starting the project, and I knew that this 'Fantastic Four' was going to be told in a very different way than even the other movies.'
'Fantastic Four: First Steps' comes out in theaters July 25.
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