Guardians of the Galaxy's Pom Klementieff on balancing blockbusters and indie films

Pom Klementieff may be best known to global audiences as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy and for her role in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but the actor says her latest project, Mi Amor, represents a deeply personal return to her roots.

Speaking while promoting Mi Amor at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Klementieff reflected on how years of working in Hollywood blockbusters had distanced her from French cinema — and how meaningful it was to come back.

“When I moved to the U.S., I started doing American movies and just kept doing them,” she said. “I had forgotten that French part of me, which is a big part of me, of course. So it was beautiful to get back to a French movie.”

Directed by Guillaume Nicloux, Mi Amor stars Klementieff as Romy, a rising DJ navigating the nightlife scene in the Canary Islands whose life takes a dark turn when her girlfriend suddenly disappears. The role marks her first French-language lead in over a decade and offered a creative challenge very different from studio films.

“It was also interesting being the lead role,” Klementieff explained. “You get to explore so many facets of the character and to really dance with the idea of the character.”

Klementieff praised Nicloux, calling the collaboration especially meaningful. “To do so with such a talented director whom I have admired for many years was very special,” she said, adding that the experience helped her reconnect with a part of herself she hadn’t explored on screen in years.

She also spoke warmly about working alongside Benoît Magimel, describing him as “an iconic actor” who was “so nice, warm and funny,” making the intense shoot feel effortless.

Despite her continued involvement in major franchises, Klementieff said projects like Mi Amor remind her why she fell in love with acting in the first place. Looking ahead, she hopes to continue moving between large-scale productions and intimate, character-driven stories.

“It would be the dream to be able to do that,” she said. “For me, it’s all about the director, the character, and a gut feeling of wanting to be part of this creative process with these people. It’s a human experience.”