From sidekick to kickass, Karen Gillan has come a long way since leaving Doctor Who.
Gillan turned into a ginger ninja for her latest role, opposite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
She mastered the nunchucks, a deadly martial arts weapon, to play Martha in Jumanji: The Next Level, out on Wednesday.
Now Gillan, 32, fancies her chances as a real crime fighter even if the weapon, two sticks linked by a chain, is outlawed on the streets of many countries.
She said: “If someone attacked me on the street, I could see if I had the reflexes and the skills to react in the moment.
“But that’s not an invitation to attack me. I am just angry and ready to fight.”
Her skills impressed on set. One film insider said: “Everyone was blown away by Karen’s martial arts fighting – she took it to the next level, and was a real ginger ninja.”
Johnson, 47, said: “Her skill level of kicking ass and how she elevated those action sequences was amazing.”
But co-star Joe Jonas was at the sharp end of her martial arts when she accidentally hit him with nunchucks.
Gillan’s career has skyrocketed since she left the Tardis and the then Doctor, Matt Smith, in 2013 after three years as companion Amy Pond.
Next Level is her second Jumanji film. She has also played Nebula in two Guardians of the Galaxy films and this year’s smash, Avengers: Endgame.
Gillan lived in New York but has returned to Los Angeles.
She said: “I prefer New York with lots of people around. In LA the streets are quite deserted.”
Perhaps it is because everyone has heard about her new skills.
