Pom Klementieff Is Out Of This World
17th July, 2025
Words by Rebecca Cope
Photos by Rachell Smith
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When 39-year-old French actress Pom Klementieff and I meet, it’s the day after her shoot for Defined, and she’s still rocking some of her hair and beauty. “Sorry if I look a little insane,” she laughs. “We bleached my eyebrows yesterday because we thought it would look cool in the pictures. I’ve done it before and I think it really shows off the eye make-up, and makes the facial proportions look interesting, like an alien. And my hair is definitely looking a little like that scene with Cameron Diaz in There’s Something About Mary.” She pauses for a beat. “But it’s not what you think it is, it’s gel!”
When she’s in front of the camera, there’s no denying that Klementieff is a chameleon. After appearing in a series of French art house films in the 2010s, her Hollywood breakthrough came when she was cast as a bodyguard in Spike Lee’s 2013 remake of Korean revenge thriller Oldboy. But it was her turn as the telepathic alien Mantis in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films, as well as her recent turn as silent assassin Paris in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning and Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning that would catapult her into the mainstream – and onto first name terms with Tom Cruise.
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“It’s an honour,” she says of her new-found fame. “But I’m not thinking about that when I’m on set shooting. I’m just in the moment with the cast and the crew then. When the movie comes out, that’s when you really find out the power of these stories and what the characters mean to the fans. I’ve done fan conventions and these people know more about Mantis than I do!” And has she ever had any strange fan interactions? “Sometimes, but on the whole everyone is very kind and sweet. But that’s why I’m thankful I know some fighting moves!” she jokes.
Klementieff is known for diving head first into the physicality of her roles, something which started when she trained in martial arts for Oldboy. “I started when I was 26 and have just kept doing it, kept learning more,” she explains. “And I still have a lot to learn, of course. Sometimes I wish I had started when I was younger, but there’s no point, I can’t change that, this was my journey. But growing up in France, and especially in my family, working out wasn’t something that you did.”
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Now, exercise is part of her wellness routine. “It makes me happy,” she says. “When I go for a run, when I move my body, I feel more in the moment and connected to the world in a different way. Then I also do yoga, which is another way of honouring your body, and helping you be more centred instead of in your thoughts. Which we all go through sometimes.” Is she philosophical? I ask. “I don’t know about that, it’s too early in the morning,” she laughs.
For Klementieff, films have always been a means of escaping reality for a little while, which is understandable as her life has been tinged by sadness. When was five, her father tragically died from cancer, and her mother’s mental health issues meant that she was raised by her paternal aunt and uncle. When she was 18, her uncle, a second father figure, passed away too, while at 25, her brother took his own life.
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It was during her teenage years, that she would catch the train to Paris from her countryside home to watch back-to-back movies. “It made the experience really special because it really was a journey,” she says. “When I started doing that I thought it would be cool to be in the world of making movies and creating stories, you know, escaping reality. Because deep down that’s what I like to do. Life can be hard sometimes, and it can be pretty sad or depressing. Films are an outlet to create a different world and to dream.”
When she isn’t working, Klementieff – who has lived all over the world, from the Ivory Coast to Kyoto in Japan – loves to travel. “I’ve been doing it for so many years now, I’ve got friends everywhere,” she laughs. “When people ask me where I live, I’m like, ‘I don’t know?’ I live in a suitcase because I travel so much. I have three actually – one has got my parachute rig and helmet in for skydiving!” The latter hobby was something that was famously encouraged by her Mission Impossible co-star Tom Cruise, who gifted her lessons as a wrap present.
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As for the future, there’s no specific genre or role she’s interested in taking on next. Instead, it’s all about the director, and the collaborative process. “It’s a gut feeling,” she says. “The projects choose me. It’s about the vision of the director and I only want to work with those whose work I admire. If the director isn’t great, the film is going to be shit.” She pauses. “But I’d love to play a monster or something creepy and unrecognisable and weird. I want to give people nightmares!”
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Talent: Pom Klementieff
Photographer: Rachell Smith
Interview: Rebecca Cope
Casting Director: Annabel Brog
Stylist: Hasan Hejazi
Hair: Marcia Lee
Makeup: Joey Choy
DOP: James Sharpe
Photo Assistant: Klaudija Avotina
Photo Assistant: George Tomlinson
Studio: Loft Studios
Thanks to 42 West