Pom Klementieff made her Marvel debut two years ago as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 — a character instantly recognisable from her bug eyes, antennae and the power to sense other people’s feelings from touch. While Mantis might be an empath, she is not to be underestimated. Armed with the power to manipulate emotions, she was able to put Ego to sleep and even debilitate Thanos, one of the most powerful figures in the Marvel Universe.
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“Mantis gets to do some action, finally! I’ve been harassing everyone about it for years because I’ve been fight training for a while so I was more than eager to get to use it as Mantis!”, exclaims Klementieff in excitement as she tells us about her upcoming Marvel films as Mantis in Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. “I was friends with Taika for years before we got to shoot Thor Love and Thunder together so it was lots of fun to work together. Lots of improvisation and music playing on set. I have lovely memories from the time I spent in Australia shooting that movie.”
Before she entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Klementieff was already intrigued by James Gunn’s unique directorial vision. She reveals, “I was a huge fan of the Marvel universe before being cast as Mantis. But I remember clearly watching the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and thinking that it was such a different voice. James Gunn is always a dream to work with because he knows exactly what he wants, but still gives you the freedom to play. It’s a very trusting and loving environment on his set.”
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Aside from her lauded acting skills, Klementieff’s multifaceted personality allows the French actress to breathe life into her titular character. “Mantis is an alien with empathic abilities. I can be pretty weird and have no filter in real life so sometimes Mantis is not too far from who I am! I love playing the role of Mantis because I get to tap into lots of different emotions and it brings lots of comedy too.”
Klementieff was born to a Korean mother and a Russian-French father, who worked as a consul for the French government. Her father passed away from cancer when she was 5 years old, and as her mother was schizophrenic, Klementieff was raised by her parental uncle until he passed away when she was 18. Seven years later at the age of 25, she lost her old brother after he committed suicide. Klementieff’s encounters with love and loss translate into her ability to tap into a breadth of emotions as an actress and touch the hearts of her audience. You can even say it is her superpower — one she shares with Mantis.
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After making her acting debut in the 2007 French film Après lui as Catherine Deneuve’s daughter, Klementieff ventured into Hollywood with Spike Lee’s Oldboy, a role that immediately placed her on people’s radars and helped her develop a solid foundation in kung fu, which opened more doors for her in action films such as the Hacker’s Game and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Klementieff has not slowed down since, and she has no plans of stopping. “[I want to do] so many things. I wanna do a revenge movie. I wanna play weird creepy characters. Monsters. Do comedy. Drama. Independent movies. I wanna work with directors from all around the world!”
Translated by Kaitlyn Lai
Photography: Royal Gilbert
Styling: Katherine Ho
Makeup Artist: Julie Cusson for Chanel beauty
Hair Stylist: Marcia Lee
Production: Kiki Prod
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