She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond , a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who β Her early film roles include the thriller Outcast and romantic comedy Not Another Happy Ending She also worked on the stage while in Britain, appearing in John Osborne 's play Inadmissible Evidence Gillan made her transition to Hollywood starring in the horror film Oculus , and played the lead in the ABC sitcom Selfie She achieved stardom for portraying Nebula in several films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe β , which are among the highest-grossing films of all time , and Ruby Roundhouse in the fantasy films Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level She also wrote and directed the drama film The Party's Just Beginning , which she also starred in.
She has starred in the comedy film Gunpowder Milkshake , the thriller film Dual , the coming-of-age film Late Bloomers , and returned to British television with the series Douglas Is Cancelled Her father is from Sunderland in North East England.
Karen Gillan has said she would not give up her acting career to return to modelling, stating that while she enjoyed modelling, acting had always been her main interest and goal. Gillan's early television acting career included guest appearances on several television shows, with her first role being in an episode of ITV crime drama Rebus , a role for which she had to drop out of school.
Gillan undertook a two-year stint as a member of the ensemble cast of the sketch comedy series The Kevin Bishop Show , in which she played multiple characters including celebrities such as Katy Perry and Angelina Jolie. Part of the BBC's multimedia "switch" programming, the short episodes interconnect with online games that further explore the environments presented in the series.
Before being cast in the role in May , she had previously appeared on Doctor Who in Series 4 episode " The Fires of Pompeii " in the role of a soothsayer. She appeared in the sixth series in and the first five episodes of the seventh series in , [ 15 ] after which her character and Rory Williams portrayed by Arthur Darvill left the series. In , Gillan appeared in the television film We'll Take Manhattan playing the part of supermodel Jean Shrimpton , which told the story of Shrimpton's relationship with the photographer David Bailey.
