With the recent news that ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle‘ has overtaken ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ as this past weekend’s box office leader, audiences seem to be saying that they’re enjoying not only the “reinvention” of the Jumanji franchise, but that the casting seemed to please viewers as well.  Of the four main characters, Scottish actress Karen Gillan is likely the least known to American audiences – as multiple other films have been headlined by fellow stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart.

Gillan certainly seems to be a rising star in Hollywood, however, and it’s likely that she will continue to become more and more familiar to American audiences.  In a recent interview, she credited long-running British sci-fi TV series ‘Doctor Who‘ with helping to propel her into the global public eye:

“It was a launchpad, it was incredible and it has such a fanbase in America. I feel like I was getting roles because the directors of the things I was auditioning for were Doctor Who fans. So, it was amazing for me, actually.”

In another recent interview, Gillan also took the time to talk about her thoughts on the newest person to play the Doctor on-screen – for the first time in the show’s 50-plus-year history, a female – Jodie Whittaker:

“I’m more excited than ever! I think that was the best, most perfect choice. She’s an amazing actress. I can’t wait to see what she does with the role, and I’m just so happy that they’ve cast a female, because there have been so many skeptical people for so long. Questioning whether a woman can play the role! Which is so backwards, frankly. Of course a woman can play the role.”

In speaking about her newest big-screen role, Gillan confessed that working the ‘Jumanji’ sorta-sequel was actually a dream role for her:

“I’m the biggest Jumanji fan ever! Yeah, I’ve decided I am it. It’s in my top three films of all time. It goes ‘2001,’ ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ and ‘Jumanji.’ And I just love it sooo much. And when I first heard that they were making a sequel to the film, I had this really strong irrational sense of ownership over it. I was like, ‘What are they gonna do with my Jumanji?’ And then I read the script and realized it was gonna be so special. And then I was like ‘OK – I need to be a part of this.’ I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get the role. It was one that I had to, not like fight for, but I did a lot of auditioning for.”

Fans, of course, can also see the actress on-screen reprising her role as the somewhat-evil character Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe powerhouse offering ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ coming up in just a few short months.