Pom Klementieff has just checked into her hotel room in London, and she’s still enjoying the butter chicken she drank an hour ago.
“It’s summertime, but it feels like winter — because London always is,” he said on a call last month. “So it’s like, ‘OK, I need Indian food.’”
The 37-year-old actress, known for her fan-favorite turn as the empathetic alien Mantis in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avengers” films, is in the second city of a world promotional tour for her next superventure, “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” in which he plays an assassin hunting Tom Cruise’s character.
“I love playing a villain,” Klementieff, chipper and candid, said about her character, Paris, who was based on a male character from the original TV series that inspired the “Mission: Impossible” films. “There’s something scary and a little crazy about it that’s really enjoyable.”
The seventh “Mission: Impossible” film allowed him to exercise his stuntwork chops, as did his boxing and taekwondo training, which was somewhat dormant during his turn in the Marvel films..
“Mantis is not the most physical fighter,” he said. “So it’s fun to play a rebel who likes to kill, fight, chase.”
Klementieff discusses how he fell in love with Tom Cruise’s skydiving, why “Gone Girl” is his comfort watch and why he was obsessed with Jessica Chastain’s performance in “A Doll’s House” on Broadway. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1
‘Lost woman’
I love watching it on Valentine’s Day when I’m single, or at Christmas when I’m a little down because of family stuff. It’s my feel-good movie.
2
Motorcycles
I taught myself to ride on the streets and countryside in France. But now I’m really doing proper training and I love it. I’m learning how to do a little skid, doing stoppies — I want to learn how to do a wheelie next!
3
Getting My Nails Done
I love when nail polish has a name that makes me laugh — Natural Connection, Sexy Divide. Usually I do the same color on each nail, or sometimes I do lilac on one hand but on the ring finger is green, and then on the other hand I do green with a lilac ring finger.
4
Horsemanship
I found a ranch in Colorado that I wanted to go to — it was my happy place. I have a horse there that I love called Mister T. He’s amazing. He walks fast, but he also listens. There are dunes so it looks like Star Wars; it’s like you’re close to the moon. It is very beautiful.
5
@tattooist_doy
There’s this incredible artist in Korea I love — his Instagram handle is @tattooist_doy. He does such delicate, intricate, beautiful tattoos. A few years ago when I was in Korea to promote “Avengers,” he put a sweet violet on my arm. This is a small flower that I used to pick with my uncle in the woods when I was little. I’m planning to get another one with him the next time I go to Asia.
6
Quentin Tarantino
I remember loving “Kill Bill” when it came out in theaters in Paris. This is one of the movies that pushed me to become an actor. I want to assert my confidence.
7
Socks Not Safe for Work
One of my agents a few years ago had a pair of socks that said “[expletive] you, pay me,” and like, “I need those socks.” So I bought them, and when I wear them, they laugh at me.
8
Cooking
I enjoy cooking because the steps have to be right, and the measurements have to be on point. I love making lemon meringue pie, and I’m going to make a heart out of it with raspberries. I love making chocolate fondant; it’s really easy. I used to do that with my boyfriends, when I had a boyfriend, it was a long time ago!
9
Skydiving
I’ve jumped 104 times since October 2021, when Tom Cruise gave me skydiving lessons as a gift-wrapper. I love the rush, I love the precision, I love how sharp it makes me. When I jump out of a hot-air balloon at dawn and the sun is shining and it smells like mist — it’s magical.
10
Jessica Chastain in ‘A Doll’s House’
There is something captivating and inspiring about watching live theater. When you’re on stage, it’s like skydiving. Jump into the void. There’s nothing like, “Oh, there’s a second take or a third take” or “Oh, someone’s going to edit this.” It’s here, right now. I saw Jessica Chastain in “A Doll’s House” recently, and she was so raw and vulnerable. I can’t stop thinking about it.