EXCLUSIVE: Inside Pom Klementieff's 'intimidating' scene with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is known for its action and fans are in for a treat with one brutal, close-quarters fight scene between Tom Cruise and Pom Klementieff in the latest instalment. 

The French actress is a prolific action star in her own right, but going head to head with Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One was intimidating to say the least.

"Yes, of course it was intimidating! But in a good way, because you have to just push yourself and you have to keep training and do your best," she tells 9Honey Celebrity.

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"I had amazing people to work with, [like] Wade Eastwood, who's the stunt coordinator who worked on this movie and the previous ones, and of course Tom," Klementieff continues.

Her fight with Cruise was shot in a tight location where they barely had room to move, so the action had to be performed perfectly to avoid injuring themselves or each other.

The result is a scene that will have audiences on the edge of their seats, but it has also raised a major issue for the future of Klementieff's career.

"Now my problem is like, how can I top a fight scene with Tom Cruise in a movie? I don't know," she admits with a laugh.

Klementeiff's character, Paris, is a woman of few words and only has a handful of spoken lines in the film, which could turn some actors off the job.

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Instead, the Guardians of the Galaxy star focused on developing a really distinct physicality and series of facial expressions for Paris.

"It was great. It was very freeing actually, because it was [about] coming up with different ideas, with improvisation, with the makeup that I'm wearing," she explains.

"In the fight with Tom, with the makeup dripping on my face - I look like a monster!"

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Co-star Simon Pegg quips that it's "not possible" for the captivating French star to look monstrous, but Klementieff enthusiastically leaned into her character's brutal side.

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"I'd come in the morning and just ask, 'Who do I kill today?'... it's just fun, we just play."

This marks Klementieff's debut in the Mission: Impossible franchise, following her success as fan-favourite Mantis in a number of Marvel movies.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is exclusively in Cinemas on July 8.