Three minutes into my interview with Pom Klementieff, Im apologizing but not for myself. On behalf of Canada, I am so sorry, I say, unsure well-nigh how to respond to her tale of rejection. The Guardians of the Galaxy star laughs, unmistakably not harbouring any grudges.

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Klementieff was born in Quebec City under a diplomatic passport. And I lived there for well-nigh a year considering my dad was a French diplomat, she explains. She moved virtually a lot as a kid, spending her diaper between here, Japan and the Ivory Coast surpassing her French-Russian father and Korean mother settled in France. As a teen, Klementieff thought it would be cool to have a Canadian passport. However, she was denied one due to her fathers diplomatic status at the time of her birth. To make matters worse, years later, while on a printing tour for one of her many Marvel movies, she wasnt unliable into Toronto considering of visa issues. Then I apologize, and then she laughs. I love Canada, but youve told me no a lot, she says. Im kinda traumatized. [Laughs] Not that I could tell.

Klementieff asks if she can turn her camera off during our video chat. I dont want to see my squatter it annoys me, she laughs. I get only a unenduring glimpse of the two-face in her New York City home in a unstudied cotton striped tee with her blond hair messily pulled back. And while it would be easy to undeniability her out on the irony of her statement shes starring in two of summers biggest blockbusters: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, out now, and Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One, premiering in July coming from Klementieff, who is so sincere and full of sunshine, it doesnt seem right.

In specimen youre a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) amateur, Guardians of the Galaxy has been a miracle since 2014. Compared to its comic-book counterparts, its an eccentric and eclectic vapor of fresh air with a killer soundtrack and spectacle chops rivalling any Will Ferrell production. Of course, it has all the normal drippings of an MCU movie (big cast, worthier explosions and plane worthier muscles), but the franchise, now in its third and rumoured to be final installment, has an plane worthier heart and Klementieff is at the centre of it. Her character, Mantis, introduced in 2017s sequel, is a big-eyed antennaed Celestial empath who can tenancy peoples emotions. Shes kinda like the glue that keeps the Guardians together, expressly in volume three, says Klementieff, who moreover loves that she gets to be the comic relief a role not usually given to women. It gives me a lot of self-rule to just be weird, she says, which is something I can tell she delights in. Klementieff is quick to laugh and plane quicker to laugh at herself. She is unusually unguarded and readily shares her stream of consciousness, whether she is receiving a package (as she did in the middle of our call) or contemplating why she cant do a cartwheel (I never know if my legs are straight!).

The only topic she seems reluctant to discuss is her family. Klementieff suffered a series of devastating tropical personal losses, starting with the death of her father when she was still very young. In drastic need of some escapism, she immersed herself in movies. As a child, I had a little dream in my throne to wilt an actor, but I never saw anyone who looked like me onscreen so I didnt think it would be possible, she shares. Though she thrived in theatre classes from a young age, Klementieff went to law school to placate her family. She dropped out soon after, realizing that life was too short to not do something you love. I never wanted an office job, she admits. I aspired for venture and something outside the norm. Increasingly specifically, Klementieff wanted to kick some ass.

Listing Kill Bill and Park Chan-wooks The Vengeance Trilogy as significant influences in her life, Klementieff was inspired by the image of a strong, unapologetic and crazy fighter sexuality character. She took up boxing and (later) martial arts, and as luck would have it, her first major role was playing a villainous bodyguard in Spike Lees 2013 version of Chan-wooks Oldboy. Training is unchangingly hard, but thats the eyeful of it, says Klementieff. It puts you in whoopee mode instead of stuff passive and sad it just makes you happier.

And, boy, does it make Klementieff happy. I can barely finish my question surpassing she launches into her detailed fight history, animatedly describing how eager she was to show off her skills in Guardians. When I got the audition, I was so excited that I sent training videos to the producers at Marvel, she shares. And then I found out that my weft didnt really fight, and I was like, What the hell, guys! Withoutyears of pushing, Klementieff finally got physical in 2022s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and in Vol. 3.

However, nothing hits quite like a Tom Cruise movie, as the two-face is famous for his practical tideway to filmmaking and death-defying stunts. Klementieff started training for Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One in 2019 and hasnt had a unravel since. She tells me she was just in the Arctic two weeks earlier, fighting off frostbite while filming the sequel. And surpassing that, she was triumphal her 100th skydive. Its unchangingly a little bit scary, but theres the excitement of the unknown, she muses. Its like dancing in the sky poetic and very addictive.

Klementieffs thrill-seeking tendencies moreover wield to the red carpet. I love taking malleate risks and thinking outside the box, she shares, describing how she tries to find a wastefulness between having fun and not stuff the centre of attention. To unzip this, she has defended folders of inspirational images saved on Instagram that consist primarily of travel, tattoos and motorcycles. Given her tough-girl aesthetic, this is whimsically surprising. Shes been known to waddle a stocky choker, unvigilant shoulder and structured suit to a premiere, but her style took a definite step up without she became one of the faces of Alexander McQueen. While Klementieff currently stars in the British brands Spring 2023 wayfarers slantingly former FASHION imbricate star Sadie Sink she tells me that the leather two-piece she wore to the 2022 Cannes Film Festival might be one of her all-time favourites. The noise those boots made was crazy I sounded like a f*cking cowboy, she laughs. But I loved not wearing a gown and stuff a little rebel.

With two blockbusters in play, I doubt Klementieff will be little for much longer. Shes a sweet soul wrapped in a tough moto package who cant cartwheel but can certainly skydive. For now, she has full days and then a month-long Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 printing spin superiority of her, which quite honestly sounds exhausting. But at least shell get the opportunity to travel. In some ways, stuff in one place for too long gives me anxiety, she reveals, referring to both her past and her present. I live in a suitcase, so home is where the people I love are. And I have so many friends in so many variegated places that it feels like my heart is torn between cities. Maybe this time shell plane make it to Canada.

Photography by ROYAL GILBERT. Creative direction by GEORGE ANTONOPOULOS. Styling by KAREN CLARKSON. Hair by MARCIA LEE for ONE REPRESENTS using HAIR BY SAM MCKNIGHT. Makeup by ARIEL YEH for SAINT LUKE using TATCHA. Nails by SASHA GODDARD for SAINT LUKE using SHOREDITCH NAILS and BYREDO. Photo assistants: NICK COLLINS and PHILIP BRADLEY. Fashion assistants: MOLLY ELLISON and MAGGIE CURWIN. Hair assistant: ANAIS ROSENTHAL. Producer: THEARCADE.

The full Summer 2023 issue will be misogynist May 23. Click here to learn more.