Karen Gillan is surprised by the final moment of Guardians of the Galaxy 3

After a good run of comedy and genre work, Karen Gillan felt it was time for a radical change.

Not long ago Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3For a whirlwind press tour, Gillan returned to Australia where she filmed Thor: Love and Thunder Two years ago, he joined Adam Cooper’s team Sleeping dogsLed by Russell Crowe. This twisty psychological crime drama follows retired homicide detective Roy Freeman, whose recovery from an experimental procedure for Alzheimer’s disease leads him to re-engage a murder case from a decade earlier. Gillan plays the mysterious Laura Baines, right-hand researcher to Marton Csokas’ Dr. Joseph Vedder and his therapeutic thesis to reconsolidate memory.

When Professor Vedder (Csokas) ends up dead, Freeman (Crowe) takes a new interest in Baines (Gillan) when he revisits the case a decade later. Sleeping dogs He plays with the tropes of the femme fatale through Baines, although Ceylan hesitates to use this as a description of her.

“My interpretation of the character might not line up with anyone else’s interpretation, but I liked the idea that it was very performative,” says Gillan. Hollywood Reporter. “So I thought it would be fun for me to watch some YouTube videos of people you might want to emulate and then influence a little bit.”

Gillan also looks back at James Gunn’s conclusion Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and was even surprised by the recent message that Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill/Star-Lord will return to the MCU one day. With led feather Guardians The films come to a fitting end, thenVol. 3 The future, along with his fellow Guardians, was a big question mark until their post-credit parting statement.

“It was very surprising, but it was also amazing. I thought to myself: ‘Okay, what’s the plan here?’” says Ceylan.

With Gunn moving on to co-run DC Studios with producer Peter Safran, Gillan has openly stated that she would love to play Poison Ivy for her former director, but after the work he’s given her over a decade, she wouldn’t push him on the subject.

“I like to leave things up to the universe a little bit and see what happens, but I would definitely love to work with James again. He’s the best,” Gillan shares.

Below, during a recent conversation with THRGillan also discusses her popular vlog about her finals Guardians Experience, plus the candid, “personal” photo I posted of couples therapy over Zoom.

So where did you do it? sleeping dog Fall on your schedule?

Oh my gosh, since the pandemic, I have no sense of time. I don’t know if you suffer from this too, but I thought I had been married for a year and just realized it had been two years. (He laughs.) Anyway, I fired (Sleeping dogs) last February and it could have been later Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3I suspect.

What was your psychological state at that time? What were you looking for in terms of work?

I don’t know if I’m really looking for anything in particular, but I want to get into the dramatic space a little bit more just because I’ve done some comedy and genre work. So I wanted to exercise that (dramatic) muscle a little bit, but I was very open. This just came out, and I always think the surefire sign I should do it is when I read it and I start reading the lines out loud just because it’s fun. So it’s in no one’s interest but my own, and then I say, “Okay, if I enjoy doing this now, I should probably go and do it for a job.”

Your character is a spoiler, but was the opportunity to play in the world of the femme fatale part of the appeal?

My interpretation of the character may not line up with anyone else’s interpretation, but I liked the idea that it was very performative. Perhaps she studied people she considered intellectuals who were genuinely interested in classical music and cutting-edge things she could talk about at dinner parties. So I thought it would be fun for me to watch some YouTube videos of people you might want to emulate and then influence a little bit. It’s not an impression, but more like this feeling that it doesn’t seem quite real. There’s something going on there that feels a bit performative.

She briefly shared the jungle set with Tommy Flanagan Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2but Sleeping dogs I’ve given you one or two interesting scenes together. As a fellow Scot, have your paths crossed much over the years?

I think it was just on Guardians, actually, but funnily enough, he’s from the same area in Easterhouse, Scotland as my mother. So I feel like I’ve known him for a long time, but no, we haven’t actually worked on many things together.

Former policeman Russell Crowe lives alone with Alzheimer’s disease, a terrifying existence. But it made me think about how important memory is to an actor. You have to memorize your lines and channel personal memories into certain scenes, if that’s the style one uses. Can you do your work remotely without an intact memory?

I try to imagine it because I rely heavily on my memory. I really wouldn’t be able to go into it without knowing my lines. I know it so well that I can then be emotionally free and try a range of things that either work or fail, and it’s going to be hard to focus on doing all of that when you’re constrained by not knowing the next word. a dialogue. So I will suffer without my memory. However, I’m sure there are some people out there who have a technique of showing up and not knowing their lines and crossing them somehow, and sometimes it comes out brilliantly. So there is no one rule for all in this. It’s all about just trying to be as honest and in the moment as possible, and that can be with or without memory.

So I really liked the behind the scenes stuff vlog Which I did for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but something caught my attention after she went through four hours of makeup and prosthetics to become Nebula. You’re back at your trailer in full makeup, and then someone arrives to give you a coronavirus test. Wouldn’t it make sense to get a Covid test before doing four hours of makeup?

Yes I will! The reason for this is because I had to start doing makeup so early that they didn’t have any staff who could come in at that hour to take a Covid test. They came at the start of everyone’s normal day, but my normal day started at 3:00 AM. So we couldn’t do that until they came to work.

You don’t have to specify, but have there been cases where people have tested positive after spending hours and hours wearing makeup?

Yes!

That photo of you attending a Zoom couples therapy session in your Nebula makeup is one of the most remarkably honest the pictures ever seen. Between that and the vlog, did you intentionally want to show people the less glamorous side of an actor’s life?

I just thought it was the funniest thing. My husband and I thought this was the funniest and most ridiculous thing. So there was no strategy of wanting to show the real side. It was more than we had to do because it was so funny. I also think it’s a good idea to try to normalize treatment in any way possible. There’s still a bit of a stigma attached to it, and if more people talked about it in a normal way, maybe we could get to the point where people would be more willing to go and seek help.

When I finally saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3Also, were you surprised by the post-credit message about Star-Lord’s return? Did you know that was coming?

No, I don’t remember seeing that in the script. So either I had a bad memory or it didn’t exist. So it was very surprising, but it was also great. I was like, “Okay, what’s the plan here?”

Do you think Nebula and Drax will last long in their parental roles on Knowhere?

Yes, I’d like to think so. Nebula has a true sense of purpose now, which is a major part of her healing. She has been through a lot, and now she can finally accept love and show love towards others. So the final stage of all this healing is helping others, and that’s exactly what you do.

I’m sure there’s a temptation to send Poison Ivy memes and gifs to (DC Studios president) James Gunn, but considering that… Guardians The casting has already taken ten years of work, don’t you intend to force this issue?

The fact that Nebula turned into ten years of work is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. So I like to leave things up to the universe a little bit and see what happens, but I would definitely love to work with James again. He is the best.

You also reunited with another Flanagan, Mike Flanagan, after working with each other for the first time skylight (2013). how it was Chuck’s lifebased on the Stephen King novel?

magic. Oh my God, it was just magical. It is one of the most unique texts I have ever read. I’ve never seen anything this structured before. It’s a beautiful exploration, but I don’t want to give it up. So it was great to work with Flanagan again and see how he’s changed as a director, but in many ways, he’s remained exactly the same. I actually got to see a version of the film, and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

Finally, who do we blame next? Jumanji Being stuck in neutral?

If you know, can you tell me? (He laughs.) Because I do not know. I’m sure it’s hard to argue about everyone’s schedules, but I haven’t heard anything about it other than the fact that we’ll do it at some point. So we’re all very excited about it. We all love working on these films, it’s just a matter of time.

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Sleeping dogs release Only in theaters on March 22nd.