Pom Klementieff Interview: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Fight Scene
76After leaving behind her role as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 earlier this year, Pom Klementieff is getting ready to steal the show in another blockbuster with Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. She'll play a villain joining the main baddie Gabriel played by Esai Morales and all indications are that she brings an absolutely chaotic energy to the film as she battles Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell. Collider's own Steve Weintraub was in attendance at the world premiere in Rome, and he got the chance to talk to Klementieff about her time with the film and how her alleyway fight scene with Cruise came together.
The last time Klementieff was in Rome, she was stealing the scene in a high-intensity car chase as she pursued a handcuffed Cruise and Atwell. "Oh, It's insane, totally," she said. "I remember driving the Humvee around the fountain and chasing Tom and Hayley, and now we're back here. It's beautiful." Despite all the heart attacks it likely caused seeing her peeling through Rome's streets, she laughed and told Weintraub she was still welcomed back for the premiere with open arms. "It's movie magic!"
While the Dead Reckoning Part One chase scene drew a ton of applause when shown to audiences at this year's CinemaCon, Weintraub and Klementieff instead dove into her alleyway fight scene with Cruise and all the complications that entailed. "Oh, we took our time to make it perfect," she said with regard to setting everything up. Because of the space, capturing every bit of action on screen was particularly challenging. "It was very technical the way we had to put the cameras and the lighting because the space was so narrow so it was hard to do the kicks, the punches. We had to find the right things that would work for the characters and for the action." Their efforts to make the scene something special extended all the way back to the training room where Klementieff says she spent "months" perfecting her character's style:
"I trained for months! For months and months, and I'd been training even before. I was training with Wade Eastwood who's the stunt coordinator, who worked in the previous movies, and who's amazing to work with. We were trying to find the fight style of the character to make it unique as well."
Klementieff Said Cruise Was a "Gentleman" While Filming Their Alleyway Fight
Both Cruise and Klementieff know their stuff when it comes to crafting stellar fights. In close proximity in a cramped alleyway, however, it's all the more difficult to keep the fake punches from becoming all too real. When asked if she was afraid of actually hurting Cruise, however, Klementieff said "He's strong! He would handle it. But I'm good with distance. I trained a lot, so I know where to stop and to not hurt someone." Rather, Cruise was warier about hitting Klementieff than vice versa despite the actress's insistence. "Yeah, I kept asking him to just kind of have a little bit of contact because it helps me, but he didn't want to do it because he's a gentleman."
Dead Reckoning Part One will see Cruise and Klementieff joined by Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Ving Rhames, and Hayley Atwell among others on what may be Ethan Hunt's most dangerous mission yet. A new weapon emerges that could threaten all of humanity in the wrong hands, sparking a global race to recover it before it's too late. Hunt's own past will finally rear its ugly head, however, as an old and all-powerful foe enters the fray.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One premieres in theaters on July 12.
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