The 10 Best Karen Gillan Roles

Karen Gillan has built a career that moves effortlessly between television, indie films, and massive franchise blockbusters. Audiences first got to know her on British TV before she jumped into international projects that put her on screens around the world. Along the way, she’s taken on everything from sci-fi adventures to sharp comedy and brooding character studies.

This list highlights the roles that defined her versatility and reach, spanning beloved TV companions, Marvel standouts, action leads, and writer-director turns. Each entry focuses on the concrete details—who she played, what the story required, and how each project fits into the larger picture of her body of work.

‘Doctor Who’ (2010–2013) – Amy Pond

Karen Gillan played Amy Pond, the primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor, appearing across multiple series under showrunner Steven Moffat. The character is introduced as a young woman from Leadworth who first meets the Doctor as a child, later joining him for travels that involve the cracks in time, the Pandorica, and the mystery of River Song. Gillan’s run pairs her primarily with Matt Smith’s Doctor and includes frequent appearances by Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams.

Across her tenure, Amy’s storyline tracks a long-term arc that explores family history, fixed points, and the consequences of time travel. Major episodes include encounters with the Silence and the Weeping Angels, as well as multi-part finales that tie together season-spanning plot threads. Gillan also features in several specials and crossover moments that anchor pivotal transitions in the series.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014) – Nebula

In ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, Gillan portrays Nebula, a cybernetically enhanced warrior raised by Thanos alongside Gamora. The character serves as both antagonist and connective tissue to the broader cosmic storyline, with key scenes establishing her combat training, augmentations, and complicated sibling rivalry. Director James Gunn integrates Nebula into heist-like sequences and battle set-pieces that establish the film’s core ensemble dynamic.

Nebula’s design combines extensive prosthetics, makeup, and stunts, emphasizing physical transformation and precise movement. The film places her within the Kree–Xandarian conflict and the hunt for an Infinity Stone, setting up later appearances that expand on her history with the Ravagers, the Guardians, and the larger interplanetary alliances introduced in the series.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019) – Nebula

Gillan returns as Nebula in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, where the character becomes central to the time-heist framework and the effort to undo the universe-wide catastrophe. The plot uses Nebula’s cybernetic memory and networked systems as key devices, creating direct conflict between two versions of the character and advancing her trajectory from operative to ally. The film’s structure gives Nebula scenes with both the Avengers and the Guardians, linking multiple teams and timelines.

Her arc in this installment addresses captivity, loyalty, and the fallout from Thanos’s conditioning, with sequences that hinge on her technical knowledge and piloting skills. The role also anchors plot handoffs between Earth-bound heroes and cosmic factions, positioning Nebula as a bridge character across several narrative threads that continue in later entries of the franchise.

‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ (2017) – Ruby Roundhouse

In ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’, Gillan plays Ruby Roundhouse, the in-game avatar for a modern teenager pulled into a video-game version of the cursed board game. The character’s skill set—dance fighting, agility, and knowledge of the jungle—supports a party of avatars portrayed by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart. Director Jake Kasdan frames Ruby as the team’s combat specialist, with visual gags and cut-scene logic that mirror action-adventure gameplay.

The story follows a quest structure with collectible items, boss battles, and limited lives, allowing Ruby’s abilities to unlock level-specific challenges and cooperative puzzles. Gillan trained for fight choreography and stunt-driven sequences that blend comedy and action, and the film’s success led to a direct sequel that continues the same avatars with expanded rules and upgraded obstacles.

‘Oculus’ (2013) – Kaylie Russell

‘Oculus’ casts Gillan as Kaylie Russell, a woman determined to prove a haunted antique mirror is responsible for a string of family tragedies. Directed by Mike Flanagan, the film intertwines past and present through parallel timelines that track siblings investigating the mirror’s influence, relying on practical effects and shifting point-of-view to create unreliable perceptions. The narrative builds through a documented checklist of control measures, security cameras, and contingency plans.

As the investigation unfolds, the film uses environmental distortions to blur what is recorded versus what is imagined, turning ordinary household spaces into trap-like settings. Kaylie’s meticulous preparation—auction records, provenance tracking, and cataloged incidents—anchors the plot mechanics, while intercut scenes with younger versions of the characters show how earlier events echo into the present confrontation.

‘Selfie’ (2014) – Eliza Dooley

In ‘Selfie’, Gillan stars as Eliza Dooley, a social-media-obsessed marketing professional who teams with a branding expert to reshape her public image. Created by Emily Kapnek and airing on ABC, the series updates the premise of ‘My Fair Lady’ to an office-comedy setting, pairing Gillan with John Cho as Henry Higgs. Episodes revolve around workplace campaigns, influencer culture, and the tension between online metrics and real-life relationships.

Production blended single-camera sitcom storytelling with contemporary phone-screen graphics and on-platform references. The show developed a dedicated following through broadcast and subsequent streaming availability, with later episode releases helping complete the season’s arc about mentorship, personal boundaries, and sustainable career habits inside a fast-moving marketing firm.

‘The Party’s Just Beginning’ (2018) – Liusaidh

Gillan wrote, directed, and starred in ‘The Party’s Just Beginning’, a character study set in Inverness that follows Liusaidh as she copes with grief and isolation. The film interweaves present-day encounters with memory fragments, using a local bar, a call center, and nighttime city streets as recurring locations. The production was mounted through an independent model with location shooting that foregrounds the Highlands’ urban landscape rather than tourist imagery.

The project marked Gillan’s feature-length directorial debut, expanding her work behind the camera after short-form directing. The narrative incorporates Scottish dialect, regional music cues, and community-specific details, while the ensemble includes supporting turns from a small cast that intersect with Liusaidh’s routine. Festival screenings and limited theatrical runs helped the film reach audiences before moving to on-demand platforms.

‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ (2021) – Sam

In ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’, Gillan plays Sam, a professional assassin who reunites with her estranged mother after a mission goes sideways. Directed by Navot Papushado, the film features a cast that includes Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett, and Michelle Yeoh as members of a clandestine network that operates through front businesses like a retro diner and a library with coded book-checkouts. The narrative tracks a protection job centered on a young girl caught between rival factions.

Action sequences are staged around stylized sets such as a bowling alley and a medical clinic, with fight choreography that uses props and confined spaces to shape each encounter. The production combined international financing and shot across European locations, and its distribution strategy included a hybrid release that brought the film to streaming alongside theatrical markets.

‘Dual’ (2022) – Sarah / her double

‘Dual’ casts Gillan as both Sarah and her government-issued clone, created after a terminal diagnosis and then legally obligated to fight to the death when the original unexpectedly recovers. Written and directed by Riley Stearns, the film features a deadpan tone, training montages with a combat coach, and administrative procedures that treat cloning as routine bureaucracy. Aaron Paul co-stars as the trainer who prepares Sarah for the sanctioned duel.

The production filmed in Finland, using minimalist architecture and muted interiors to underline the story’s off-kilter near-future setting. Gillan’s dual performance involved matched eyelines, motion-controlled shots, and body-double work to create seamless interactions between the two characters, with careful sound mixing and editing to maintain consistent spatial continuity across dialogue scenes.

‘Not Another Happy Ending’ (2013) – Jane Lockhart

In ‘Not Another Happy Ending’, Gillan portrays Jane Lockhart, a debut novelist whose editor interferes in her personal life to overcome a bout of writer’s block. Directed by John McKay and set in Glasgow’s publishing scene, the film follows the business relationship between author and editor as book deadlines, marketing plans, and contract clauses push the characters into increasingly contrived publicity moments. The story incorporates bookstore events, manuscript revisions, and the pressures of second-book expectations.

The production leans on local Scottish locations, including cafés and independent shops that double as meeting spots for agents and editors. Gillan’s character navigates cover designs, author photos, and press interviews, while side characters—friends, rivals, and readers—create a small-community network that feeds back into the publishing timetable and book-launch cycle.

Share your favorite Karen Gillan role in the comments, and tell us which performance you’d add to the list!