With Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One finally here, audiences finally have a chance to meet Pom Klementieff’s villainous character, Paris. And especially compared to her role as Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Paris is a rather silent character who only speaks in choice moments during the movie. Klementieff opened up about what conversations came out of that choice with us.
CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell spoke to the actress while the cast was in Rome, Italy doing press for the movie. When asked about the decision for Paris to barely speak in Dead Reckoning Part One, here’s what Pom Klementieff had to say:
I think it was, we were having conversations with Christopher McQuarrie and he was telling me how much power we can have in stillness, and not speaking. And, I think it was beautiful. I’m inspired by actors like Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Takashi Takano, who in movies speak less, and actually when they start speaking you really listen to them and every word matters. And I think there was a lot of freedom within not speaking and conveying emotions just with the eyes, or just with slow movements of the face.
It sounds like Klementieff’s limited dialogue in the latest of 2023 new movie releases was purposeful to her character and the actress’ own acting influences. Her picks are incredible and obviously iconic, and she wanted to emulate them with the character of Paris. As she continued:
Or, with the makeup too. I had this idea, it was supposed to be a party in Venice, where people were supposed to wear masks, so I wanted to just draw a mask on my face because the character is a rebel.
Paris is among quite a few villains in Dead Reckoning Part One, with her character being an assassin who is sent to pursue the Impossible Mission Force, including Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, of course. When speaking to the character’s motivations, Pom Klementieff also said this:
I think Paris has been through a lot of trauma in her life, and a lot of disappointment as well and there’s rage she needs to get out. And, that’s what she seeks when she fights – like hunting.
Pom Klementieff is a French actress who has broken into the world of Hollywood as of late, most notably as Mantis in the MCU. The Mission: Impossible role marks her second major franchise role, but since she knows James Gunn personally, she could also jump to DC Studios next. Klementieff has called working with Tom Cruise a “dream come true” for her.
Plus, she’s caught the daredevil bug herself, recently sharing that she has skydived over 100 times since Cruise gifted her skydiving lessons in October 2021. The new movie is currently enjoying rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and is expected to earn around $80 million during its first five days in theaters, per Variety. The movie, which started shooting in early 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread, reportedly cost $290 million to produce.
Tom Cruise had a massive box office win last year with the massive response to Top Gun: Maverick, which became the second highest grossing movie of 2023 behind the second Avatar and earned Oscar nominations. We’ll see how the latest Mission: Impossible movie does, which is in theaters now. Pom Klementieff is also expected to reprise her role as Paris in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two, which is currently expected to open in theaters on June 28, 2024.
