Karen Gillan’s Nebula and Pom Klementieff’s Mantis have already experienced significant transformations in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 push both characters forward even further in especially big ways.

Once a full-blown villain with a one-track mind seeking vengeance against her sister (Zoe Saldaña), Nebula’s now not only a member of the Guardians, but she’s also emerging as a leader within the group. As for Klementieff’s Mantis, she began her journey essentially as Ego’s (Kurt Russell) servant and since has found a real family with the Guardians, but is coming to learn she needs to experience some individual growth, too. Both are put to the test on personal levels as the group faces off against Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) and Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) diabolical creator, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hitting theaters nationwide this weekend, I got the chance to chat with Gillan and Klementieff about Nebula and Mantis’ growth in the series, and also their own personal evolutions as actors as well. Check out the video at the top of this article or the transcript below to hear all about the very first time each actor felt part of the Guardians family, Gillan’s take on Nebula’s approach to being a caretaker, how Klementieff can personally connect to Mantis and Peter embracing their sister-brother relationship, and loads more!

I have to imagine it's a little intimidating to jump into a project like a Marvel movie. Do you remember the first time you felt part of the family?

KAREN GILLAN: I remember actually Lee Pace on the first movie organized a night for everyone to get together where he was staying, and that sort of made me feel part of things. But when we got there, it was Peter Jackson's house! So we were all like, whoa, and then we go to watch a movie in his theater, and we watched After Hours, the Scorsese movie. But that was nice because it felt like I had been invited and included because my character was a little bit on the sidelines, but they were nice enough to extend an invite.

POM KLEMENTIEFF: I remember when I first met all the Guardians was at the table read and I was a little bit anxious because I was the newbie, you know? But they made me feel really welcome and at ease, and they were so sweet. And then I remember hanging with [Karen] for the first time, we had drinks and then we went to sing karaoke. Was it the same night? I don't know, but we had a lot of fun together.

GILLAN: Yeah, we sang live band karaoke where you can get a rock band and we sang Nirvana.

Solid choice right there!

KLEMENTIEFF: We were like yelling in the microphone. We were going for it! [Laughs]

GILLAN: They introduced us as the girls from Guardians of the Galaxy! [Laughs]

KLEMENTIEFF: Yeah, but no one knew who I was, so it was so funny!

GILLAN: And no one knew who I was because I’m blue! So they were like, who are these actors claiming to be Guardians of the Galaxy?

Karen, Nebula’s arc throughout these three films is one of my favorite parts of them. Looking back, is there any scene from Guardians 1 or 2 that you found redefining or reshaping the character most where you could feel everything you do in Guardians 3 being influenced by that scene?

GILLAN: I would say a breakthrough scene for Nebula was when she talks to Gamora, or has a sort of shouting match with Gamora, where she tells her she just wanted a sister. And that kind of really encompassed the character for me and all of her torment and how all of this anger was just because she wanted her family. And so that kind of evolved their relationship and evolved Gamora’s understanding of where Nebula was coming from, which then allowed them to progress from there.

Pom, one of my favorite new additions for Mantis is that she and Peter are really embracing the brother and sister connection. What's something about your approach to the character and the way she carries herself that changes now that she knows she has a brother who also wants to call her his sister?

KLEMENTIEFF: Oh yeah, it was beautiful. It was a beautiful bond and for me also, it brings me back to my personal story, too. I had a brother so it was beautiful to shoot these scenes and it was really cathartic in some ways.

Karen, I also love how Nebula is growing as a leader. Two-parter on this; what is something that you wanted her to have as a leader that set her apart from the other emerging leaders in the group, but then also, what is something that you wanted her to have as a leader that reflected the fact that she now understands that she's part of a family and needs to respect what they all want?

GILLAN: It’s always been interesting to me that she would become this kind of caretaker/leader role because she's been on a healing journey throughout all of these films and I think a massive part of healing is helping other people to heal, at a certain point. You can use your expertise actually in this area that you've gone through and come out the other end and help other people to go on that journey. So I like that she would probably have that as a leader.

Here's my new favorite question. It is overly sentimental. I don't care. It makes me happy. In this industry, we love to give each other awards and that's wonderful, but I feel like nobody says ‘good job’ to themselves nearly enough. So whether it's a scene in Guardians 3 or any other Marvel movie you've made, what's a scene you can look back on and say to yourself, ‘Damn, I am proud of what I did there?’

KLEMENTIEFF: There are some scenes, when you watch them on the big screen, and when you shoot them, it's a different thing, and then you watch them with the beauty of the music and the other actors or the special effects and everything that you say, it's all makes sense and it feels like magic, and it's the movie magic, you know? So that's like, ‘Oh, that's what it was and now it all makes sense and it's beautiful.’ There’s a scene in this movie with the Abilisks …

GILLAN: I was gonna choose that for you!

KLEMENTIEFF: I don’t know, I think it's a beautiful scene …

GILLAN: She’s so good in that moment! You don't even say anything, but you say so much without speaking. It’s so good.

KLEMENTIEFF: Thank you. What about you? There are so many amazing scenes.

GILLAN: One scene that I really like, I don't think that it's down to me that it's so good, it's the whole thing, but the scene that I really like is when I'm with Kraglin and I'm sort of talking about how I'm gonna tear Thanos apart like a dog, and then he has the necklace line that's really funny, and I just always really like that moment.

I like both of those examples! You kind of cheated and gave everyone else some love …

KLEMENTIEFF: In this movie the scene with the car, when you're trying to open the door. It’s so funny. It’s so good.

The comedy in that is on point! The perfect place to drop the MCU’s first F-bomb because I feel like everybody understands that kind of frustration.

GILLAN: Yeah! It's so funny that they would use it. It's it feels like a monumental thing and it is used in the most throwaway setting.

Did it feel like a monumental thing on set where everyone was thinking about planting it there with purpose?

GILLAN: No! I didn't notice that he said it until someone said, ‘Oh, that's the first F-bomb in MCU history,’ and I was like, ‘Really?’ I didn't actually even hear it because, I guess, I'm Scottish and hear a lot of swearing all the time.

KLEMENTIEFF: The thing is, also, why is it a thing in the first place? I mean, we both come from Europe too, so for me it's like, I use this word all the time. You need a release so it should be in the movies, too.

GILLAN: Yeah.

KLEMENTIEFF: But it's great that it's in this movie. We're proud of it.

GILLAN: Yeah!

As you should be! It reflects the way I speak when I’m not sitting in these interviews.

KLEMENTIEFF: I always ask if I can say the word too in the movies and they always say no.

I feel like Mantis’ day will come.

GILLAN: That would be really funny.

If you could have Mantis utter a bad word in a future Marvel series or movie, what would it be?

KLEMENTIEFF: Merde!

What does that mean?

KLEMENTIEFF: It means shit.

Okay!

Before I have to leave you, I love hearing people sing James' praises, so can you name a time on set when the workshopping you did with James or a note he gave you allowed you to access something in your character that made all the difference?

GILLAN: He sort of famously gave me a note that unlocked the whole character for me … where I was kind of doing my generic villain thing and he was like, ‘Stop all of this and let's try an impression of Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood,’ and that just unlocked the whole character for me. And now I have a voice like that!

KLEMENTIEFF: I don't know if there's a specific moment. No, it’s like, I know that sometimes I overthink and he just calms me in some ways, you know? He finds the right words to just make me feel — and there's so much trust and then you just let go and it happens.

GILLAN: He is like a different director to each of us. I get a different James, Pom gets it, because he knows that every person needs something different, and it's incredible to watch.