Karen GIllan enjoyed quite a boost to her geek credentials since appearing as Nebula the Guardians of the Galaxy (opens in new tab) movies, but nothing could prepare her for walking onto the set of Avengers: Infinity War (opens in new tab). In an interview with Total Film, the Scottish actress admitted that she had trouble keeping her cool when she saw Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and more all lounging around on set in their iconic costumes. Speaking of which, they’ve all accrued some practical wisdom after spending upwards of a decade in the impractical outfits…
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“It doesn’t get old! When they’re all fully in costume, sitting around with their coffees, I’m like, ‘No! I cannot deal with this!’ It’s the most surreal thing ever,” Gillan said. “Then they will be talking about their costumes in a real practical way: ‘The first suit is always tricky, because you’re ironing out all the parts that don’t feel comfortable…’ Giving advice to other superheroes… it was very funny.”
Aside from the famous company, it also took Gillan a bit to reckon with the simple fact that she’s going to be a part of this massive “cinematic event”, the one movie that has arguably had the most sprawling lead-up of any in film history. Especially because Nebula wouldn’t have even lived to see Guardians 2 (opens in new tab), let alone Infinity War, if not for some late revisions.
“I didn’t think it was a plausible thing, to be honest,” Gillan admitted. “The crazy thing is when I first signed on for the role, I thought it was going to be eight days of filming. And then I thought the character was going to die. Now five years later I’m in the Avengers! Woah! It’s amazing. I love playing this character so much… I’m so invested in her, I want to see it through to the end.”
The Avengers are great and all, but you and I both know who the real star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is – pay him proper tribute with our list of every Stan Lee Marvel movie and TV cameo (opens in new tab). And don’t forget to sign up for a subscription to Total Film (opens in new tab) for more interviews like this one.