Before she achieved international success by joining the MCU, Pom Klementieff had already established herself in the French film industry as an actress on the rise. Born in Quebec, she spent her younger years living in different countries due to her father’s work as a consul. Eventually, she settled in France with her aunt and uncle. When she was 19, Klementieff began seriously pursuing an acting career and landed her first role in the French independent film Après lui (After Him) in 2007.
In 2014, she began to set her sights on breaking into the American film industry and took a significant step by joining the cast of the Spike Lee-directed remake of Park Chan-Wook’s critically acclaimed 2003 film, Oldboy. Klementieff did her best in a film that probably never needed to be made, but the ill-fated film was enough to help her land more roles in the U.S. market.
By the time Klementieff was cast as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, she had already begun to amass an acting resume showcasing her versatility and talent. Now with the release of the new Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One, Klementieff has joined another franchise as the assassin Paris. As she continues to book intriguing roles in films and some of the most talked-about shows on TV, let’s take a look at 10 of her best projects so far.
10. Save Ralph (2021)
Content Warning: This short contains depictions of animal abuse.
While not a full-length project, this short by Taika Waititi was made in collaboration with the Humane Society in an effort to ban animal testing on an international scale (and it’s better than the other contender for last place on this list, Thor: Love and Thunder, by a long shot). The short is presented as a documentary following Ralph, a “tester” rabbit from a long line of cosmetic testers. As you probably expect, it’s a rough but impactful watch that gets its point across in less than 4 minutes. Klementieff is part of a star-studded cast (including WGTC-favorite Zac Efron), playing another rabbit in the testing lab.
9. Newness (2017)
Director Drake Doremus, known for films like the 2011 romantic drama Like Crazy, lands on something similar to 2017’s Newness. The film follows two young people (Nicholas Hoult and Laila Costa) who spark a romance after meeting each other on a dating app. Despite their strong feelings for each other, the two fall into patterns of insecurity and eventually decide to open their relationship. While it’s hard to think these two are healthy for each other, they come across as likable, and you can’t help rooting for them despite the odds. Klementieff plays a supporting role as Hoult’s character’s ex-wife.
8. Westworld (2020)
Klementieff plays a guest role in season three of the popular HBO show Westworld as a mysterious agent from an organization revealed to be run by the billionaire Engerraund Serac. Fans of the show would be forgiven for not remembering Klementieff’s time on Westworld as she was a new character introduced in a season cluttered with new characters. Still, her portrayal of Martel was well-done, although only for three episodes before the character suffered an untimely death. The first season of Westworld is considered some of the best storytelling on television, but unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the following seasons.
7. Black Mirror (2019)
Klementieff stars in the 2019 episode “Striking Vipers” of the sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. The plot revolves around a married couple, Theo (Nicole Beharie) and Danny (Anthony Mackie), who begin to drift apart after Danny reconnects with his old friend Karl (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) through the virtual reality game Striking Vipers X. In the game, the two friends can feel any sensation their respective characters (played by Klementieff and Ludi Lin) do, and uh, we mean any.
Like most episodes in the series, “Striking Vipers” raises more questions than it answers; the episode addresses themes of friendship between men, sexuality, identity, and infidelity but allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions.
6. Loup (2009)
The 2009 French film Loup was Klementieff’s first leading role, playing a member of a Siberian tribe of reindeer herders. The film follows a 16-year-old boy who has trained all his life to hunt wolves to protect his tribe’s reindeer but finds himself forming a bond with a wolf pack.
In an interview with Anthem Magazine, Klementieff spoke about shooting on location in the Siberian mountains and learning how to ride reindeer, cook reindeer, and even sew her own pants using reindeer skin. She also talked about her experience with the other animals on set, including playing with real wolves and living “out one of [her] dreams:” swimming with a horse in a lake.
5. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Along with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Mantis returns in Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much to do because she was an unlucky victim of the Blip (along with most of the Guardians), but she comes through in the final battle and puts some baddies to sleep.
The film itself is one of the best to come out of Marvel Studios and is a culmination of over a decade of storytelling since the groundbreaking release of Iron Man, which jump-started the MCU. It’s not a perfect film by any means (don’t get me started on Captain America’s whole arc), but it’s hard to give it a lower spot than this.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the first time we see Klementieff as Mantis, a socially awkward being with empathic abilities. When Mantis is first introduced, she works as Ego’s servant (though it’s later revealed she’s also one of his children, just like Peter Quill) because of her ability to help him sleep. Initially, she’s more of a comic relief character, but toward the film’s end, she joins the Guardians and helps them fight against Ego.
I wasn’t a huge fan of this film when I first saw it (I know, I know), but I came around to it after watching it a second time. The Guardians of the Galaxy films are good vehicles for not only continuing the over-arching MCU plot but also for telling great, contained stories. This film’s exploration of what a family truly consists of and other emotional themes continue to resonate with audiences today.
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
After a dry spell of good Marvel movies (I’m looking at you, Thor: Love and Thunder and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrived just in time to save the day. The film continues the tradition of Guardians films having great standalone plots and gives some much-deserved attention to Rocket. The plot is equal parts moving and devastating in a way that makes disgruntled viewers remember why they actually like Marvel films.
While it’s not confirmed Mantis will return in a future film, I do hope Klementieff gets her wish and can drop the MCU’s first French swear word at a later date.
2. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
With the release of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, the newest installment in the (nearly thirty-years-old!) franchise, it’s safe to say Tom Cruise and crew have mastered the art of action films. Watching Cruise and the plethora of lovely cast members perform stunts that surpass the wildest imaginations of the average audience is undeniably thrilling. However, the film also has an engaging plot that can rival the best of spy films. Ethan Hunt is truly the American equivalent of James Bond, and honestly, I can’t be mad at that.
Klementieff shines as Paris and also takes part in Hunt’s first-ever fight with a woman — a shocking piece of trivia given that this is the seventh Mission: Impossible film. “I wanted to bring insanity to the character,” Klementieff told Digital Spy. “I wanted to be something eerie and strange and kind of like a monster, but that looked like a porcelain doll or a pantomime at first.”
1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
While there have been other great Marvel films, Avengers: Infinity War is truly the pinnacle of the MCU and Marvels Studios’ greatest film to date. Nothing can beat the anticipation fans felt leading up to the film nor the shock of seeing the ending for the first time. I watched every MCU film in preparation for this (I hadn’t actually watched any until The Avengers came out in 2012), and it was worth it. Not to make it sound like this film came out 50 years ago instead of five, but I still remember how satisfying it was to see every hero appear after watching a decade of build-up. Sure, the film has flaws, but it’s easy to forgive them when you think about the sheer scale of this project.
Mantis plays a more important role in this film than Endgame; as one of the only heroes able to even subdue Thanos, she almost helps her group finish off the big bad before the final fight. Those sleep powers come in handy!
If you enjoy any of Klementieff’s work, you can catch her in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, in theaters now.
