Woman Crush Wednesday: Karen Gillan Delivers Meta Movie Magic in ‘The Bubble’

The clock is ticking on March 2022, but luckily, April is right around the corner to shower us in top-notch streaming content all month long. Helping to make that incredible content possible in the first place are the amazing actresses who breathe life into characters and stories that leave us entertained and wanting more. We’re shouting out one of those leading ladies in today’s Woman Crush Wednesday by highlighting a wonderful woman who has put in terrific and unforgettable work over the past 16 years as a professional actress and filmmaker. She deserves all the respect and recognition in the world so be sure to give it up for her as we celebrate this week’s WCW, the gifted Karen Gillan!

WHO’S THAT GAL: Karen Gillan

WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Gillan stars as Carol Cobb in upcoming Netflix Original title, The Bubble, which premieres on the platform this Friday, April 1. The comedy is a very meta film within a film that takes place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and follows a group of actors who have traveled to a closed set in England to film the sixth installment of Cliff Beasts, an extremely successful (fictional) dinosaur-themed blockbuster franchise within the movie’s universe. Directed by Judd Apatow, this delightful romp of a film has a star-studded cast that includes Gillan, Pedro Pascal, Leslie Mann, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate McKinnon, Guz Khan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Iris Apatow, and Maria Bamford. Make sure to check out their great work and spend your April Fool’s Day the right way (having a good chuckle) by watching The Bubble as soon as it drops, only on Netflix.

WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: Gillan’s professional onscreen career began in 2006 when she played Teri Cotter in an episode of detective drama series Rebus. Over the next few years, she appeared on more British TV shows like Harley Street, Coming Up, The Kevin Bishop Show, and The Well before breaking out to an even wider audience in 2010 after earning her first feature film role in supernatural thriller Outcast and as leading lady Amy Pond in beloved long-running BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. From there, the actress swiftly accumulated work in shows like NTSF:SD:SUV::, Selfie, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and Robot Chicken, as well as in films like 2013 romantic-comedy Not Another Happy Ending, 2013 supernatural psychological-horror Oculus, 2015 biographical comedy-drama The Big Short, 2016 dark comedy Western-thriller In a Valley of Violence, 2017 techno-thriller The Circle, 2018 comedy-drama The Party’s Just Beginning (which she also wrote and directed!), and 2019 animated spy comedy Spies in Disguise.

Within the past few years, Gillan has continued to make her mark on screens big and small thanks to her performances in shows like Cake and Calls, and in recent films like The Call of the Wild, Gunpowder Milkshake, and Dual. Besides Doctor Who, Gillan is probably best known for her recurring role as Nebula, one of Thanos’s daughters, in Marvel blockbusters Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, as well as in two episodes of Disney+ animated anthology series What If…?. The actress has also made her mark as Ruby Roundhouse in 2017 star-studded family-adventure comedy film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, as well as in its 2019 sequel. And this is all merely scratching the surface of Gillan’s range and talent that she has honed through years of dedication and hard work to become the incredible and well-rounded artist she is today. Even with all of this awesomeness already achieved, we have no doubt that there is still much more to come, and look forward to seeing all that she continues to pursue and accomplish in the years ahead.

WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: Luckily, you won’t have to wait much longer to see more from Gillan, as she already has multiple exciting projects in the works. Look out for the actress to reprise her role as Nebula in Thor: Love and Thunder, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which are all highly-anticipated Marvel titles that are expected to drop within the next year or two. You’ll also be able to hear Gillan star as the titular Rhona in upcoming animated musical series Rhona Who Lives by the River, which is currently in pre-production and will eventually premiere on Disney+.

For more from Gillan in the meantime, be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook now so that you never miss a moment from your world-class WCW!