2006–2012: British film and television Gillan's early television acting career included guest appearances on several television shows, with her first role being in an episode of
ITV crime drama
Rebus, a role for which she had to drop out of school. in November 2010|alt=|upright Gillan undertook a two-year stint as a member of the ensemble cast of the
sketch comedy series
The Kevin Bishop Show, in which she played multiple characters including celebrities such as
Cheryl Cole,
Katy Perry and
Angelina Jolie. Karen Gillan also appeared on TV in a leading role in a horror project entitled
The Well, which was broadcast as a series of episodic short films on
BBC Two and later as a web series on BBC.co.uk. Part of the BBC's multimedia "switch" programming, the short episodes interconnect with online games that further explore the environments presented in the series. In 2008, she starred in the
Channel 4 television film
Stacked. Gillan went on to portray
Amy Pond, companion to the
Eleventh Doctor (portrayed by
Matt Smith), on the British sci-fi series
Doctor Who. Before being cast in the role in May 2009, she had previously appeared on
Doctor Who in
Series 4 episode "
The Fires of Pompeii" in the role of a soothsayer. In 2010, she won in the Entertainment category at the
Young Scot Awards. She appeared in the
sixth series in 2011 and the first five episodes of the
seventh series in 2012, after which her character and
Rory Williams (portrayed by
Arthur Darvill) left the series. Karen Gillan reprised her role in the 2013 Christmas special "
The Time of the Doctor", to coincide with Smith's departure as the Doctor. In 2011, Gillan made her first theatre appearance playing the role of Shirley in
John Osborne's play
Inadmissible Evidence along with
Douglas Hodge. The play debuted at the
Donmar Warehouse on 16 October 2011. She was selected by director
John McKay because he came to know her during the production of ''
We'll Take Manhattan'', which he also directed, as "a very bubbly, vibrant, energetic, funny, slightly clumsy person" who was a perfect fit for the character. Filming took place in July 2012, Karen Gillan told journalists that she was happy to be involved in a Scottish production that "isn't about drug use or fighting the English". The film premiered at the
Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2013. In 2012, Gillan appeared in the television film ''
We'll Take Manhattan'' playing the part of supermodel
Jean Shrimpton, which told the story of Shrimpton's relationship with the photographer
David Bailey.
2013–2019: Hollywood breakthrough promoting
Guardians of the Galaxy in 2013. For her
breakthrough role of Nebula, she shaved her head. In November 2013, Gillan appeared on
Broadway in a play called
Time to Act, one of the plays included in "The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway" to benefit the non-profit Urban Arts Partnership. She was also cast in the third season of
A Touch of Cloth, which was co-created by
Charlie Brooker. Gillan joined the regular cast of
Adult Swim's
NTSF:SD:SUV:: for the show's third season in 2013. She moved to the United States in 2013 and landed her first leading Hollywood role in the supernatural horror movie
Oculus. It was filmed in Alabama and premiered at the
2013 Toronto International Film Festival Brian Tallerico writing for
RogerEbert.com believed the film was effective "thanks largely to a game performance from Gillan. She renders Kaylie as a driven woman on the edge of sanity herself." She earned a Fright Meter Award nomination for Best Actress. The series was cancelled by ABC on 7 November 2014 after seven episodes; the remaining six episodes were made available on
Hulu starting 25 November 2014.
Selfie still has a
dedicated following of fans years after its broadcast
especially in China, where there is still a large demand for a sequel. Initially, there were talks of a
Selfie movie revival with Stars Collective, but no further developments were made since Warner Brothers declined to sell the film rights. In May 2013, Karen Gillan was cast as
Nebula in the Marvel superhero science fiction film
Guardians of the Galaxy, which was released in August 2014. Gillan had her head shaved bald for the role, which Marvel turned into the wig that Gillan wore during the production of
Selfie. In May 2014, Karen Gillan was cast in the Western film
In a Valley of Violence directed by
Ti West, opposite
John Travolta,
Ethan Hawke and
Taissa Farmiga. Karen Gillan portrayed Ellen, the older sister to Farmiga's character. She also appeared in
TV on the Radio's "
Happy Idiot" music video, released on 3 October 2014. In 2015, Gillan had a bit part in the drama film
The Big Short directed by
Adam McKay, alongside
Brad Pitt,
Christian Bale,
Ryan Gosling,
Steve Carell and
Melissa Leo. She wrote and directed her first short film,
Coward, which screened at the 2015
Edinburgh Film Festival, and was nominated for several awards. Later in the year she wrote, directed, and starred in another short film called
Conventional. She won in the Best Female Newcomer category at the
20th Empire Awards for
Guardians of the Galaxy and
Oculus. On 2 November 2016, it was announced that Gillan would write, direct and star in her directorial feature film debut with Burbank-based development and production company Mt. Hollywood Films'
indie drama project titled
Tupperware Party. Set in her home city of
Inverness in the
Scottish Highlands, filming began in January 2017 and wrapped in the following month. The title of the film was later changed to ''
The Party's Just Beginning. The film was nominated for Best Feature Film at the British Academy Scotland Awards. and co-starred in The Circle, alongside Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and John Boyega. The latter film, released in April, was directed and written by James Ponsoldt, and was based on the novel by Dave Eggers. Also in that year, Karen Gillan played the lead female role, Ruby Roundhouse, in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the third instalment of the Jumanji
franchise, starring alongside Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Nick Jonas. She reprised her role as Nebula in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), which were filmed back-to-back.
Filming for the two films began in January 2017 at
Pinewood Atlanta Studios in
Fayette County, Georgia and ended in January 2018. In 2019, aside from her leading role in
Avengers: Endgame, she co-starred in the films
Stuber and
Spies in Disguise, and starred in
All Creatures Here Below. Also in 2019, she reprised her role as Ruby Roundhouse in
Jumanji: The Next Level and appeared in a short film titled
Neurotica.
2020–present: mainstream success In 2020, Gillan appeared in the adventure drama
The Call of the Wild, based on the
Jack London novel. The following year, she starred in the action film
Gunpowder Milkshake alongside
Lena Headey,
Angela Bassett,
Carla Gugino,
Michelle Yeoh and
Paul Giamatti. For the role, she was nominated for Best Actress in an Action Movie at the
2nd Critics' Choice Super Awards. In 2021,
Disney Branded Television announced that Gillan would star on the upcoming
Disney Television Animation and
20th Television Animation series
Rhona Who Lives by the River as the titular character, Gillan would act as executive producer for the series alongside series creator Emily Kapnek and series composer
Danny Elfman. Gillan previously worked with Kapnek on the sitcom series,
Selfie (2014). In 2022, she starred in the sci-fi thriller
Dual alongside
Aaron Paul, which is filmed entirely in
Tampere, Finland. She played a
double role, and earned acclaim for her performance. Critic consensus from
review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes described the movie as "well-led", and John DeFore for
The Hollywood Reporter said that "Karen Gillan, who has spent much of her post-
Doctor Who decade playing cyborgs, computer avatars and a thinly imagined assassin, has a barely more human role to play here; to the extent that she makes either Sarah worth rooting for, it's an achievement." At the
3rd Critics' Choice Super Awards, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie. for which Damon Wise of
Deadline Hollywood praised her "engaging and refreshingly vanity-free performance". Also in 2023, she began filming
Sleeping Dogs in Australia with
Russell Crowe which earned a 2024 release and received mixed reviews. Better received was the
ITVX comedy drama series
Douglas Is Cancelled, which was released in June 2024 and marked Gillan's return to British television. She was critically praised for her acting.
Lucy Mangan of
The Guardian said her "magnificent performance keeps all the possibilities in play." Nick Hilton of
The Independent believed "Gillan is totally convincing as a woman whose beauty distracts from her brains." Gillan appeared in
The Life of Chuck, reuniting with filmmaker Mike Flanagan, with whom she last collaborated on
Oculus, which premiered in September 2024 at
TIFF. She will next play the role of
Queen Mary Tudor in the upcoming film
Fools. Gillan also expressed that she would like to do more romantic comedy projects and horror films. ==Advocacy and philanthropy==