photographer / Isaac Sterling
story / Gina Tron
hair / Carina Tafulu
makeup / Carly Wise
stylist / Wilford Lenov
assistants / Josh Corbett
shot @ Marina Del Rey
Pom Klementieff is a sharp little actress. I asked her what weapon she would be if she had all the arsenal options in the world. She told me she’d be a kitchen knife. “It’s more surprising. In everyday life. It’s domestic. But at the same time its really violent.” When Pom was 5 her father had cancer. Years later, a friend of his told her that he had wanted to be a director. “I think subconsciously,” Pom admitted, “it brought me to be an actress.”
She began watching a lot of movies by herself when she as a teenager. She was always drawn to acting, and drawn to strong female characters in particular. “Working as an actress can be very independent. I never wanted to be housewife,” she recalls. She was fascinated by the characters of Erin Brockovich and the strong females in Kill Bill. She also loved the original Old Boy, a South Korean film from 2003. “It was one of the first films where I wanted to be inside the movie.” Now she gets to be inside it, as she was cast as Haeng-Bok for the new version of it directed by Spike Lee. She couldn’t say much about her character and the plot except for the teasing statement that her role “isn’t too far from the villain.”
In order to prep to audition for the film she began boxing. She was living in Paris at the time and was doing so much boxing practice that her flight for the audition in LA was quite painful. “I was so sore. I couldn’t move. It was horrible.” For the audition she was “super jet lagged but I didn’t care.” She was too excited. She tried not to show it too much when Spike came in. “You know when you have been waiting for a moment for a long time? I tried not to be crazy.”
The shooting for the film has wrapped up and it proved to be a physically grueling one. She had to train in martial arts. She loved it though, all of it. “It was amazing to work with [Spike Lee]. He’s such a talented director and he’s such a great human being.” When it came to acting, Pom says that Spike let her do what she needed. But, “when you need direction he gives you what you want so he’s easy to work with.”
Pom also finished shooting a film called “Hackers Game.” She played the lead role. “I was playing a computer hacker.” For the character, she had to dye her hair purple. “That’s why I have purple hair.” I asked if she liked it and she said yes, which is why she kept it. When it comes to her style, she likes to be “girly sometimes, but for everyday comfortable.” The world should get comfortable with Pom’s cunning badassity in her upcoming roles that are sure to make everyone uncomfortable, in the best way possible.
more pictures here!