He might be biased, but Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn believes that Karen Gillan‘s performance as Nebula in the MCU is Oscar-worthy, especially if the Academy tweaked the criteria it uses to decide the awards. Fresh off of Doctor Who, Gillan switched one sci-fi role for another with 2014’s Guardians, becoming an instant fan favorite for her portrayal of Thanos’ less-favored cyborg daughter.
As great as she was in her first appearance, Gillan has grown into the role more and more with each one, culminating in her fantastic dual turn as two very different Nebulas in Avengers: Endgame. Now the person responsible for casting her in the first place says he thinks she could’ve picked up four Oscars by now if only the Oscars were determined by how much “acting” an actor does.
Comedian/writer Karen Chee went viral on Twitter thanks to her suggestion that the Oscars should show both a clip of the actor in their movie and in real life just so we can see the difference. Gunn retweeted the pitch, adding his own idea: that the Academy should award one point for every “bit of difference” between the performer and performance.
In a follow-up tweet, Gunn admitted that he thinks, by doing it this way, Gillan would win a gong each time she played Nebula.
It’s easy to follow Gunn’s logic here. If the Oscars were awarded on a points-based system derived from how much an actor transforms for their role, then Gillan would be unbeatable. Not only do prosthetics turn her into an unrecognizable, bald, blue-skinned alien, but Gillan employs an American accent instead of her native Scottish voice for the part. That doesn’t even factor in her actual terrific performance as the morally complex character.
Karen Gillan will next play Nebula in July 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. She’ll then return in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special that Christmas before appearing in Guardians Vol. 3 in May 2023.