Karen Gillan gets candid about pursuing her acting career in America as she stuns in glamorous photoshoot

She won the hearts of the nation when she took on the role of Amy Pond in Doctor Who alongside Matt Smith.

And Karen Gillan, 30, has enjoyed an equally successful career in the United States since then, as she's starred in a number of big blockbusters like Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and, more recently, Avengers: Infinity War.

Speaking candidly with American Way magazine for American Airlines in their May issue, the Scottish actress explained that moving to America made her feel like 'the shackles are off' as it gave her the freedom to pursue her dreams without judgement. 

Having first caught the acting bug while she still lived in her hometown of Inverness, things weren't easy for the actress initially, as she admitted: 'Some people would be like, "Oh, she's very ambitious," like it's a negative thing.'

As an avid horror film fan, one of Karen's childhood ambitions was 'to play the female equivalent of Jack Nicholson in The Shining,' a role she still hopes to make happen one day.

Iconic Stanley Kubrick roles aside, the flame-haired beauty has done quite well for herself in the industry as she stars in a number of big-name franchises, and also has a key role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Karen plays Nebula, a bald blue-skinned assassin who also happens to be one of the adoptive daughters to Marvel villain Thanos (Josh Brolin), who finally made his hugely-anticipated big screen debut in Avengers: Infinity War.

His arrival onto the scene has been ten years in the making, and every film in the Marvel Universe up to now has been building to this moment, so it is great that Karen has such an integral role in the overall story.

Despite her many appearances in the superhero franchise, Karen admitted that she still enjoys some form of anonymity across the pond because she's unrecognisable in the role - something she's grateful for.

'I don't know how I would cope if I couldn't just go get a coffee,' she said. 'Some of the actors I work with, they can't do that anymore.'

Karen is aware that the hype around the comic book films may dwindle over the years though, and that's okay because she wants to do other things: 'The Marvel stuff isn't going to last forever. Even though I love doing it, I want to have variety in my life and career.

'I did not anticipate that I would be doing so many action sequences and playing these roles—which is great—but it's not really my forte.' 

And variety she will have, as she recently made her debut as both director and writer for her first feature-length film The Party's Just Beginning, which she also stars in. 

The Guardians Of The Galaxy star is happy with her decision to go into film-making, as she said: 'It feels like there's change in the air, and it's exciting.

'Not only to be given opportunities as a female filmmaker, but also to see other females looking at what I'm doing and then saying that they're going to start making films.' 

As well as making her own films, Karen is even interested in setting up her own production company that would act as 'some form of umbrella for other filmmakers.'

She's quick to admit that she won't be leaving the film business permanently just yet, as she will only make her own company once she's 'stopped running around kicking people's butts.'