With an undeniable on-screen presence, French actress Pom Klementieff has had several memorable roles in film and television. In the past 15 years, Klementieff’s career has managed to carve a niche for herself in French cinema and Hollywood. Klementieff was born to a Korean mother and a Russian-French father in Quebec City, Canada.
Pom Klementieff’s journey to cinema began at age 19 after she enrolled at a Parisian private drama school, Cours Florent; she quickly stood out. Klementieff’s multifaceted depth in her performances often allows her to effortlessly blend humor, strength, and vulnerability into her characters. Over the years, these have been Pom Klementieff’s top roles as an actor.
Haeng-bok in Oldboy
Pom Klementieff made her screen debut in 2007. However, she starred in several French films in her early career. She made her Hollywood debut in 2013, playing Haeng-bok in Spike Lee’s neo-noir action thriller Oldboy. The movie was a remake of a 2003 South Korean film. Although only a supporting character, Pom Klementieff’s Haeng-bok was one of the film’s memorable characters.
As Heang-bok, Klementieff was Sharlto Copley’s character’s deadly and silent enforcer. Pom Klementieff’s physicality and commitment to the role helped reveal her capacity for high-stakes action and darker, more intense characters. Oldboy also starred Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, and Samuel L. Jackson. Despite it being Klementieff’s breakout role, Oldboy was panned by critics and was a Box Office flop.
Harley Chung in Ingrid Goes West
In the 2017 black comedy-drama, Ingrid Goes West, Pom Klementieff played Harley Chung. She was introduced as the enigmatic and glamorous friend of social media influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). Klementieff shared the screen again with Olsen in yet another small role. Although Klementieff’s role wasn’t central to the movie’s plot, her magnetic screen presence added to the movie’s satirical take on the modern cultural obsession with Instagram. With Aubrey Plaza playing the lead, Ingrid Goes West was a critical success.
Watch Ingrid Goes West on Apple TV+
Laser in Thunder Force
Between playing an MCU superhero, Pom Klementieff also played a supervillain in Ben Falcone’s superhero comedy Thunder Force. Cast as Laser, Klementieff was one of the film’s key villains, working for William Stevens/The King (Bobby Cannavale). Laser has superhuman abilities, specifically the power to generate and control deadly beans of laser energy. With the movie’s plot centered around the superhero duo Lydia Berman (Melissa McCarthy) and Emily Stanton (Octavia Spencer), Klementieff’s Laser was a formidable adversary. Despite its negative reviews, Pom Klementieff stayed true to her character, portraying Laser as cunning, ruthless, and fiercely loyal to The King’s criminal empire.
Watch Thunder Force on Apple TV+
Martel in Westworld
Pom Klementieff joined the ensemble cast of HBO’s dystopian sci-fi Western series Westworld in season 3. Klementieff played Martel, a member of Incite. Although her role was relatively small, the series’ success and Klementieff’s sharp and memorable performance added to her growing portfolio of playing complex, morally grey characters. Klementieff’s character is introduced in season 3’s premiere (“Parce Domine”) on March 15, 2020. The character appears in only 3 episodes, exiting the series after Martel is killed by Dolores/Connells’ (Tommy Flanagan) suicide explosion at Incite headquarters. Martel last appears in season 3, episode 5 (“Genre”).
Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
Unarguably, Pom Klementieff’s most famous role of her career is portraying the Marvel superhero Mantis. Klementieff (or her face) became a household name after first appearing as Mantis in the 2017 sequel, Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Mantis is known for her gentle yet quirky alien with empathic abilities. The role stood out for Klementieff, particularly among Marvel fans, for being the first actress to portray the character on screen.
As Mantis, Klementieff added a layer of warmth and humor to the already diverse team of misfits. Mantis’ ability to feel and manipulate others’ emotions made for hilarious and touching moments. A standout interaction was always with Dave Bautista’s Drax character. So far, Pom Klementieff has portrayed Mantis in five MCU films. These include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Pom Klementieff also portrayed the character in the 2020 TV special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Watch Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on Disney+
Paris in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Having spent over half a decade portraying Mantis, Pom Klementieff took on an exciting new challenge in the 2023 Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. The movie was the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. In the movie, Klementieff plays Paris, a lethal and relentless assassin.
In this high-octane role, Klementieff showcased her physical agility and ability to portray morally ambiguous characters. Most of Paris’s scenes have intense hand-to-hand combat and thrilling chase sequences. Her most iconic fight scene with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character proved Klementieff could not only share the screen with Hollywood’s top action stars but share in their spotlight. Besides these Pom Klementieff movies and TV shows, Aubrey Plaza is another actress with several must-see spellbinding performances.
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