Karen Gillan Celebrates Her Birthday By Sharing An Embarrassing Scene From Her First Movie

Karen Gillan recently took to social media to share a look at her first movie. It's a bit embarrassing for the actress considering the style which was a bit amateur.

By Charlene Badasie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Karen Gillan

Karen Gillan took a trip down memory lane for her 34th birthday. On Sunday, the Scottish actress shared a throwback clip from her directorial debut with a homemade horror movie she created as a 13-year-old. Gillan also starred in the horrific mini-movie, while her dad portrayed one of her victims.

The Marvel star shared the video with her followers in a post on Instagram. In the accompanying caption, Karen Gillan wrote, “To celebrate my birthday I thought I’d share this little teaser for a horror film I made when I was 13 years old. My real directorial debut.”

“I made my dad act in the film and made @donnatello876 my trusty camera operator,” Karen Gillan added. She then promised to post the entire video if her dad would allow her to share it. The Doctor Who actress added that for some baffling reason her dad seems reluctant for people to see it.

“Featuring some of the worst acting you’ll ever see but some of the BEST wallpaper you’ll ever clap eyes on. Swipe for the gruesome ending,” Karen Gillan continued. “Thinking about submitting this to @sundanceorg. You think it’ll get in? Enjoy. Try not to get too scared.”

Karen Gillan first rose to prominence as Amy Pond, an ally to the Eleventh Doctor in the popular sci-fi series Doctor Who, for which she received several awards and nominations. After a few indie movie roles, she got her Hollywood break. Gillan starred as Kaylie Russell in 2013’s horror film Oculus, and later played the lead in the 2014 sitcom Selfie.

Interestingly, Karen Gillan’s mainstream directorial debut came in 2018 with The Party’s Just Beginning, which she also wrote and starred in. Set in her native Inverness, Scotland, she played Liusaidh, who goes through a downward spiral following the death of a friend by suicide. Speaking to PeopleThe Guardians of the Galaxy alum described directing herself in a film as a very interesting experience. “Normally, I’m so used to having a collaborative focus where I can turn to someone for reassurance or bounce ideas or have conversations before trying it out,” Karen Gillan told the publication in 2018. “It’s ridiculous. I would give myself four or five options and then I would construct the performance and the edit.”

karen gillan

Karne Gillan’s most recent big release was Gunpowder Milkshake, a Netflix action-thriller about female assassins. Directed by Navot Papushado from a script he wrote with Ehud Lavski, the story follows Sam who was only 12 years old when Scarlett, her mother, and an elite assassin, was forced to abandon her. As a result, the responsibility of raising Sam was left to The Firm – a ruthless crime syndicate her mother worked for.  

Fifteen years later Sam (Karen Gillan) is as efficient as she is loyal. Following in her mother’s footsteps, the fierce hit-woman uses her talents to clean up The Firm’s most dangerous messes. But when a high-risk job goes wrong, Sam must choose between serving The Firm and protecting the life of an innocent young girl, Emily. With a target on her back, Sam is forced to reunite with her mother and a new group of assassins called The Librarians.

Karen Gillan will be reprising her role as Nebula for an appearance in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next Asgardian offering Thor: Love and Thunder. She will also return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with James Gunn writing and directing the project. Additionally, Nebula and the other Guardians of the Galaxy characters will be featured in a holiday special created by Gunn for HBO Max

As is the case with any Marvel film, plot details for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are being kept firmly under wraps for the foreseeable future. However, we do know that familiar cast members Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff are expected to return, along with newcomer Will Poulter. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is currently scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2023.