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Dr. Who's Karen Gillan on Her Favorite Looks & Sci-Fi Fashion Sense | Alexa | New York Post Fashion
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May 10, 2017
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1:00Now PlayingKaren Gillan once posted a photo of herself on Twitter wearing a red tartan onesie. She’s even been known to force her beloved haggis onto unsuspecting victims. But Hollywood is quite onboard with Gillan. The 29-year-old has major roles in two high-profile movies out this spring: “The Circle,” alongside Tom Hanks, and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
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From 'Who’s that blue girl in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’?'
In the former, she plays a spokesperson for a morally questionable Internet giant. The latter finds her reprising the role of Nebula, a grumpy, blue-skinned alien villain who was defeated in the first film. The character was originally meant to die in that installment. But after a rewrite, Nebula survived — albeit down an arm — and returns in “Vol. 2” with a meatier role that revolves around her troubled relationship with her sister, Gamora (Zoe Saldana).
Gillan had to spend about two hours in the makeup chair each day to transform into Nebula. “It’s really intense and claustrophobic,” she says of the makeup. “It’s not the most pleasant of sensations, but it gets me where I need to be to play a supervillain.”
She also had to shave her head — though only half of it this time around. “The under half,” she explains. “I have an ‘undershave,’ which is the grossest word in the world.”
But it might help the actress avoid the embarrassing misunderstandings that dogged her when she went full cue-ball for the first “Guardians.”
And being slathered in blue paint to play a character does have its advantages.
She has a bit more trouble walking around in the UK, where she’s famous for her breakout role in the beloved sci-fi series “Doctor Who.” In 2009, the then-unknown actress landed the coveted role of Amy Pond, the Doctor’s scrappy sidekick.
Gillan grew up in Inverness, a scenic part of the Highlands some three hours north of Edinburgh. Her mother had various jobs, including working in a supermarket, and her father assisted the learning-disabled.
Gillan’s fate was sealed when, at age 9, her parents bought her a karaoke machine. She spent hours speaking improvised dialogue into the microphone and recording it on cassette.
A few years later, she graduated to a camcorder and began shooting short DIY horror movies — most featured Gillan “murdering” her game father. Strawberry syrup subbed for blood.
She soon enrolled in local acting classes and became “obsessed.” The art form allowed the shy Gillan unfettered expression.
At 16, she moved to Edinburgh and then London to enroll in drama school, but quickly dropped out after being offered a guest role on an episode of the Scottish cop show “Rebus.”
The 5-foot-11 beauty (she sometimes avoids heels on shoots) began a short-lived career as a model.
“The Party’s Just Beginning” concerns a young woman (Gillan) dealing with her best friend’s suicide. Gillan got the idea from reading a statistic that the suicide rate among young men is higher in the Highlands than in other parts of Scotland.
She plans to submit the film to festivals. In the meantime, she spends what little free time she has penning new ideas for film or TV.
Gillan moved to Los Angeles four years ago. She’s currently single and has said she’s wary of dating in America, where it’s culturally acceptable to see multiple people at the same time. “I prefer the UK way, where we just drink near each other, and no one knows if it’s a date or not,” she told the Telegraph.
She now lives in a California house — although she says she needs to take time to learn “adult skills” that she never bothered to master. She can’t drive. Cleaning is a mystery to her. She doesn’t know how to cook.
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