Karen Gillan keeps being mistaken for Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner
And once, the former Doctor Who star just had to go with it…
It’s fair to say that Karen Gillan's star is in the ascendancy these days, with her acclaimed time on BBC sci-fi Doctor Who eventually leading to blockbuster movie success in projects like Guardians of the Galaxy, Jumanji and the recently-released Avengers: Infinity War.
However, despite this the Scottish actor says she isn’t always recognised in the street – and if she is, it might not actually be for a part she’s played.
“Funnily enough, no – I’m not bald or blue,” Gillan said on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she was asked if her Marvel character Nebula led to her being recognised.
“But you know who I get recognised as a lot, recently? Sophie Turner from Game of Thrones.”
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The comparison makes a degree of sense when you think about it – both are red-haired British actors who found fame on a popular genre TV show, before heading to Hollywood to star in superhero movies (Turner starred in X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016) – and apparently, the confusion once led Gillan to pose as Turner to avoid an awkward moment.
"There was one time when I was really, really tired and I was coming home from work shooting with all the prosthetics, and this guy was like, 'Oh my God, I love you in X-Men'. I was like, 'Thank you so much'," Gillan said.
"I just couldn't deal with it. I was like, OK, I'm just going to say thanks and then scuttle away, but then I got caught in this conversation and then I got so deep into it, I was like 'I can't tell him I'm lying now'.
"So I didn't know what to do, so I physically ran away and I'm sorry if he thinks that Sophie Turner is a really weird person now. I’m so sorry Sophie!"
Not to worry – we’re sure Sophie herself has had to deal with a few partially-sighted Whovians in her time, and will completely understand the mix-up.
Avengers: Infinity War is in UK cinemas now
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Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
