After a healthy run of comedy and genre work, Karen Gillan felt it was time for a dramatic change.
just before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3In the Whirlwind press tour, Gillen returned to Australia, where he shot Thor: Love and Thunder A couple of years ago, Adam Cooper joined the cast Sleeping dogs, directed by Russell Crowe. Crowe's twisted psychological crime drama follows retired homicide detective Roy Freeman whose recovery from an experimental Alzheimer's process prompts him to revisit a murder case from a decade ago. Gillen plays the enigmatic Laura Baines, the right-hand researcher of Morton Tsokas' Dr. Joseph Wider and his memory restoration therapy thesis.
Freeman (Growe) takes a new interest in Baines (Gillan) when Professor Weider (Chissokas) dies and revisits the case a decade later. Sleeping dogs Baines plays with feminine tropes, though Gillan is reluctant to use that description for her.
„My interpretation of the character didn't match other people's interpretations, but I liked this idea that she was very effective,” Gillan says. The Hollywood Reporter. „So I thought it would be fun for me to watch some YouTube videos that he likes to follow, and then maybe do some damage.”
Gillen also looks back on James Gunn's decision Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and she was surprised by the final news that Chris Pratt's Peter Quill/Star-Lord would someday return to the MCU. Led by Quill Guardians Images that come to a fitting conclusion, his post-Vol. 3 The future, along with his fellow defenders, was a big question mark until that post-breakup credit report.
„It was very surprising, but it was good. I was like, 'Okay, what's the plan here?' Gillen says.
With Gunn moving on to run DC Studios alongside producer Peter Safran, Gillan has openly said he'd love to play Poison Ivy for his former director, but after he's already delivered a decade's worth of work, he's not going to press on. In his title.
„I like to leave things up to the universe a little bit and see what happens, but I'd love to work with James again. He's great,” Gillan shares.
Below, during a recent conversation THRGillan discusses his most popular vlog about his finale Guardians experience, as well as the candid „in-character” photo she posted on Zoom Couples Therapy.
So where did is sleeping Dogs Does it fall into your timeline?
God, since the epidemic, I have no sense of time. I don't know if you're experiencing it too, but I thought I got married a year ago and it's been two years. (laughs.) Anyway, I shot [Sleeping Dogs] It would have been last February and later Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3I think.
What was your state of mind at that time? What are you looking for in a job?
I don't know if I'm looking for anything in particular, but I've got to do a fair bit of comedy and genre stuff so I'd like to play somewhere a little more dramatic. So I wanted to exercise [dramatic] A bit of muscle, but I was very open minded. It just came up and I always think it's a sure sign that I'm meant to do something, and when I read it, I start reading the lines out loud because it's funny. So it wasn't for anyone but my own benefit, and that's when I was like, „Well, if I'm doing this for fun now, I should go get a job and do this.”
Your character is a walking spoiler, but was the prospect of playing in a femme fatale realm part of the appeal?
My interpretation of the character may not match other people's, but I liked this idea of him being more efficient. He probably read people he thought were intellectuals, and he actually read classical music and sophisticated things he could talk about at dinner parties. So I thought it would be fun for me to watch some YouTube videos of people she likes to emulate. It's not an impression, but a feeling that she doesn't seem entirely genuine. There's something going on there, and it's a bit of a performance.
You briefly shared the set of Forest with Tommy Flanagan Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2But still Sleeping dogs I put together one or two interesting scenes. As fellow Scots, have you crossed paths over the years?
I think it was that day Guardians, actually, but funnily enough, he's from the same part of Scotland as Easterhouse. So I feel like I've known him forever, but no, we haven't really worked together on many things.
Russell Crowe's ex-guard lives alone with Alzheimer's disease, a terrifying existence. But it made me think how important memory is for an actor. Memorizing your lines and channeling personal memories in certain scenes is the technique one uses. Can you do your job remotely without a healthy memory?
I try to imagine it because I rely heavily on my memory. I can't go into it without knowing my lines. I know them inside out, so I can be emotionally free and try to do things that work or fail, and if you're limited by not knowing what your next word is, it's hard to focus on doing it all. Conversation. So I will fight without my memory. However, I'm sure some people don't know their lines and somehow have the technique to get through it, and sometimes it turns out amazing. So there is no one-size-fits-all rule. It's about trying to be as real as possible and as much as possible in the moment, which may or may not be with memory.
So I loved the behind-the-scenes footage vlog You did it for that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but something caught my attention after you put on four hours of makeup and prosthetics to become Nebula. You went back to the trailer in full makeup and then someone came to give you a covid test. Doesn't it make sense to test yourself for covid before putting on four hours of makeup?
Yes, it is! That was because I had to start makeup early and there was no staff available to do covid tests at that time. They arrived at the start of everyone else's normal day, but my normal day started at 3:00am. So we couldn't do it until they came to work.
You don't have to mention it, but have there been cases where people have tested positive after hours and hours of makeup?
Yes!
That photo attending zoom couples treatment in your nebula makeup is one of the most remarkable honest Pictures I have seen it sometime. Between that and the vlog, did you intentionally want to show people the less glamorous side of an actor's life?
I thought it was a funny thing. My husband and I thought it was a very funny, ridiculous thing. So there is no strategy that wants to show the real side. We had to because it was so much fun. I think it's good to try to normalize treatment as much as we can. There's a little more stigma attached to it, and if more people talk about it in a casual fashion, maybe we'll get to the point where people will go and seek help.
When seen at the end Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, did that post-credits message about Star-Lord's return surprise you too? Do you know what's coming?
No, I don't remember seeing that in the script. So I either have a bad memory or it doesn't exist. So it was very surprising, but it was good. I said, „Well, what's the plan here?”
Do you think Nebula and Trax are going to last long in their parental roles in Nowhere?
Yes, I'd like to think so. Nebula now has a real purpose and is an important part of healing. She suffered a lot and now she can finally accept love and show love to others. So the last step in that treatment is helping others, and that's what she does.
I'm sure there's a temptation to send poison ivy memes and gifs [DC Studios boss] James Gunn, but in your opinion Guardians Acting has already led to ten years of work, aren't you going to force the issue?
Nebula turned ten years of work into the greatest thing that ever happened to me. So I'd like to leave things up to the universe a little bit and see what happens, but I'd love to work with James again. He is the best.
You reunited with Mike Flanagan after initially working with each other Oculus (2013) how it was Chuck's LifeBased on a Stephen King novel?
Mantra. Oh my god, it was magical. This is one of the most unique scripts I have read in my life. I've never seen anything with that setup. It's a beautiful study, but I don't want to give it away. So it was amazing to work with Flanagan again, and to see how he's changed as a filmmaker, but in many ways, he's stayed the same. I actually got to see a version of the film and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
Finally, who is to blame next? Jumanji Stuck in the middle?
If you find it, can you let me know? (laughs.) Because I don't know. I'm sure it's tricky messing with everyone's schedules, but I'm not hearing anything other than that we'll do it at some point. So we're all very interested in that. We all want to work on those films, it's just a matter of when.
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Sleeping dogs Publishes In theaters March 22 only.