Karen Gillan has "learned so much" about directing through her work with James Gunn.

The 36-year-old actress starred in the filmmaker's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' franchise as Nebula and explained that she is channelling his style in her own work behind the camera – which started with the 2018 picture 'The Party's Just Beginning'.

Speaking to Collider, Karen said: "I've learned so much from him. He's an extraordinary director. He's actually such a natural leader. You feel like, 'Okay, we've got someone leading this thing that really knows what they want and is incredibly decisive.'

"You just feel like you're in safe hands with somebody with those traits because he's gonna keep you on track when you try these big swings."

The former 'Doctor Who' star added: "And then, his shots are all incredible. He's got the balance of it looking really cool, but it also being really actor focused.

"Sometimes it's one or the other, but he's got both, which is really, really exciting."

Karen explained that she wants to helm a film in the horror genre but is yet to settle on an idea.

Quizzed about a return to directing, she said: "Yeah, definitely. I have just not been able to find the right project. It just needs to be something that I create because otherwise it's really hard for me to feel that feeling of being the person that needs to tell this story.

"So, I do have my next idea and we are starting to get the wheels in motion for that, but I can't really say too much yet. It's really early days, but it will definitely have a little bit more of a horror genre to it."