Pom Klementieff had to undergo a major transformation in order to portray the empath Mantis in the
MCU and it wasn't just a physical one.
Her character has such a unique background and power-set that Klementieff had to go through
some serious mental effort to become the adorable alien we know and love.
Actors who portray superheroes tend to have some pretty strict dietary rules in order
to achieve the impressive physique they need that is even more apparent when you factor
in the ridiculous body standards that celebrity women must deal with.
But Klementieff's diet is not as strict as you might think she just changes it to suit
her needs for whatever role she is currently playing.
In an interview with Byrdie, Klementieff discussed her upbringing and how her diet changes depending
on the current role she is playing.
She explained:
"I grew up eating amazing homemade French food.
Now if I tell myself I can't eat something, I'm just going to be obsessed with it.
Like bread.
I love bread… for me, it's about quantity.
Balance.
I eat a little bit of everything….
I'm vegan in L.A., but not in Europe."
Pom Klementieff's first major Hollywood role was in Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy.
She told Filler that she actually came prepared to show off her fighting skills during the
audition for that film, and that she enjoyed her boxing and Tae Kwon Do training so much
that she continued after filming wrapped.
It's easy to assume that may have had something to do with her getting cast in the action-heavy
world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Superhero Jacked writes that Klementieff does almost no "traditional" workouts it's all
practical stunt and fight training.
This also helps prepare her for the rigors of long shooting days.
She told Filler:
"I had to train three hours a day for two months.
You are sore everyday, and you're working on your soreness!"
Mantis isn't the heaviest hitter in the Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers films, but maybe
Klementieff's training in fighting and stunts will open her character up to some more action-heavy
roles in future MCU films.
Several stars of the Guardians of the Galaxy films need to spend hours in the makeup chair
to achieve their alien looks.
Karen Gillan knows it's not easy being blue, Dave Bautista's Drax is encased in prosthetics
and intricate tattoos, and don't even get us started on how much fur they have to glue
on Bradley Cooper.
"HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH."
"That's a fake laugh."
"It's real!"
Klementieff's Mantis is no exception, but she actually does not require quite as much
time in the makeup chair as some of her costars.
Klementieff typically spends about two-and-a-half to three hours in makeup to play Mantis.
That might sound crazy, but it's only about half the time that Zoe Saldana has to spend
getting painted green to play Gamora.
That's because of the combination of practical makeup effects and CGI that brings Mantis
to life her look is created with a few basic prosthetics and, according to Metro, quote,
a "lot of beauty makeup."
Apparently, one of the most difficult makeup challenges Klemtieff faces is keeping a straight
face.
She said of costar Chris Pratt,
"It's hard to keep a straight face around him.
I laughed so hard I was crying, and my makeup artist was kind of mad at me."
Part of the struggle in making an audience care about alien characters is to make them
just human enough to be relatable.
"I am Mantis."
"What are you doing?"
"Smiling."
Klementieff has recognized the difficulty and experimentation that went into making
sure Mantis was slightly off-putting but still someone you could empathize with and cheer
for.
She told Metro:
"We tried a lot of stuff, we tried different wigs; at some point the makeup artists drew
veins on my face; contact lenses; at some point I looked really crazy and then we decided
to go for something a little more human black eyes that make me look like a bug but at the
same time something you can still connect to."
It was extremely important to get Mantis' eyes just right.
People are able to learn a great deal about another's emotions and mental state by looking
in their eyes.
Despite going way out into left field for their initial shots at Mantis' makeup, the
team eventually anchored her humanity through her eyes.
Mantis has a very fascinating superpower one that could be difficult to portray on screen.
Her ability to feel and manipulate the emotions of others is pretty passive compared to her
butt-kicking companions.
But sadly, Klementieff is able to draw on several experiences from her real life in
order to bring genuine pain and emotion to her character.
Her father died when she was only five years old, while her mother was mentally ill and
unable to care for her alone.
She went on to live with her aunt and uncle not long after her father's death.
The uncle who was caring for her died on her 18th birthday, and her brother took his own
life on her 25th birthday.
She told the Philadelphia Inquirer that acting has helped her deal with the pain.
"It's life and s---- could be worse.
It's cathartic in a way.
Sometimes you relive things and it helps you to deal with it.
You relive it and become accepting of it and you touch other people's hearts with your
experience and performance.
It's beautiful!"
She was able to channel some of the loneliness and abandonment she felt as a child into how
her long-isolated and empathetic character would view the world around her.
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