“It completely snuck up on me,” says Gillan, who also made her directorial debut with 2018 dramedy The Party’s Just Beginning. “I did not anticipate that I would be doing action whatsoever. I don’t know why. It just never even crossed my mind. I mean, I did a little bit of aikido and judo when I was a kid, but it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind at all.” Gillan said that while studying theater in Scotland, she aspired to do films. But she always imagined them in “the dramatic space” rather than the genre work and comedies (check out the highly underrated Selfie for a good example of the latter) that have composed much of her career. “I didn’t foresee that at all,” continues Gillan, “but it’s something I’m glad that has happened because it’s been really fun.” Gillan is in some of the biggest action-driven movies in the world, but it’s Gunpowder Milkshake that has given the actress the best chance yet to stretch her action movie muscles. Gillan says she was initially drawn to the script because of the movie’s title. She jokes, “I was like, ‘Okay, I would like to be in a film that’s called Gunpowder Milkshake.’” Yet it was the film’s inventive action sequences that kept her interested. It was a challenge, Gillan insists about the filming of the no-arms fight scene. “The prep for that was pretty difficult because I had to isolate body parts,” she says. “I had to surrender all control over them. It’s hard to do that, because it goes against everything your instincts are telling you to do, which is do not use these particular parts while people are trying to kill you.” Gillan has a lot of great action scenes in Gunpowder Milkshake, but the first proper fight sequence, a bowling alley brawl in which Sam takes on three men with only a rolling suitcase and some bowling balls, is her favorite. “That was the biggest challenge, because first of all, it’s the first time that you see me fight,” says Gillan. “And there’s a big buildup, and other characters are saying, ‘Remember who you’re dealing with.’ And so, stuff like that puts the pressure on you to deliver.” Past the build-up, the sequence is also filmed in one wide shot, with no cuts and no stunt doubles. Gillan may be the star of Gunpowder Milkshake, but she’s got some support from a supporting cast that includes Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett, and action icon Michelle Yeoh. Yeoh, who trained as a ballerina before transitioning into Hong Kong action films in the 1980s, has a long and celebrated action career. “I remember doing my first fight in the film, and she was actually on set, watching,” says Gillan. “Talk about pressure, because she just popped by to say ‘hi’ after a rehearsal or something. And I was like, oh no, Michelle Yeoh is going to watch me fight for the first time. I better be good.” When Gillan asked Yeoh for advice, the Malaysian actress encouraged Gillan to use her height during fight scenes. At five feet, 11 inches, Gillan’s slight frame towers over the other women and many of the men in the movie. “It was really helpful actually,” says Gillan of the advice. “I didn’t realize I was not using it, so that was good to know.” Gunpowder Milkshake is available to stream for Netflix users in the United States, Canada, and the Nordic countries starting July 14 and will be in theaters elsewhere on July 15. For Gillan, who says she had “the best summer ever” making the movie, it’s an opportunity for audiences to have a little fun too. “I think just after the year and a half that we’ve had, I just hope that people experience some fun,” she says. “I hope that you just get a huge bowl of popcorn and watch it and enjoy the escapism and just have fun. It’s a fun action film, and I think that’s what we need right now.”
