Los Cabos (Mexico): Karen Gillan is today associated with Marvel Cinematic Universe and the “Jumanji” franchise, but she recalls a time when she would be rejected at all the auditions she gave. The actress says she takes pride in her resilience, which made her stronger and more determined.
“My strength at life? I would say resilience,” Gillan told IANS when asked about her biggest strength and weakness.
“I feel like, while growing up, I got rejected from everything I auditioned for, be it school plays or local plays. Still, I was like I am going to become an actress. I really take pride in the resilience because a lot of people might be put off from that and it just makes you so much stronger that you can take anything,” she continued.
Opening up about her weakness, the 32-year-old Scottish actress said: “The weakness that I can do away is the amount of caution that flies through my brain every single day for the smallest things.”
After rising to fame as Amy Pond from “Doctor Who”, Gillan turned blue to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nebula from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” series, who eventually also plays an important role in the “Avengers” chapter. As an alien warrior with excellent fighting skills, Nebula’s journey started from the negative to eventually becoming positive, and thus winning millions of fans worldwide.
She then moved into another fantastical world of “Jumanji” in 2017. She featured as “killer of men” Ruby Roundhouse in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, which brought forward the world of Jumanji with a modern twist with a group of high school students getting lost in the jungle after laying their hands on a video game console featuring a version of the game.
Gillan is back in the avatar of Ruby Roundhouse in “Jumanji: The Next Level”. The sequel picks up where the 2017 film left off, but with some glitches and updates. The film also stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Nick Jonas and Awkwafina.
Asked what did she learn from Black and Awkwafina, she said: “That’s a really good question. I have learnt so much from them… Just how to even approach comedy by these comedic geniuses. Both of them are so brilliant at it and I am not a comedian, and while shooting I was like ‘wow it ‘s amazing how fast your brain works’.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment India released “Jumanji: The Next Level” in India on December 13, 2019 in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu.
What’s next level for you?
“I would like to maybe do a skydive, which I know I never will, and also direct a horror film,” she said.
