Karen Gillan on whisky, hedonism and the Scottish Highlands
The Scottish actress is used to being in front of the camera, but this new project has seen her immortalised in the world of whisky
No matter how far her career takes her, Karen Gillan is always yearning for home. When we speak, she is between Los Angeles and Hawaii, approximately 5,062 miles from the Scottish Highlands and her beloved Inverness. “Growing up in the Highlands was completely idyllic in every way. I look back and all of my memories look like they took place on a postcard,” she reminisces. “It was a wonderful upbringing; I’m a proper working class girl from Inverness and it is so safe there I could run around with my friends completely unsupervised and roam free around all of these beautiful places. Only now as I’ve travelled a bit more do I appreciate and understand how rare that is.”
Now a Hollywood actress famed for her roles in the Marvel movies – the highest-grossing films of all time – and taking on the character of Ruby Roundhouse in the Jumanji franchise, Gillan’s life in Scotland feels like a world away. Which is why, when she was offered the chance to work on a quintessentially Scottish project, she leapt at the chance.
Available for pre-order today (24 February 2026), Gillan is the new muse for Compass Box Whisky’s Hedonism. The project has seen her become the centrepiece of a new piece by renowned artist Emma Hack – best known for her work on Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know, one of the most viewed music videos of all time – and Gillan says this opportunity allowed her to celebrate her roots in a unique way. “Sharing whisky and stories are some of the best times of my life. There’s no wilder sensation than seeing yourself on a whisky bottle.”
Gillan with director of whiskymaking, Angela D’Orazio.
Hedonism made history when it first launched in 2000 as the first Scotch whisky to place a woman at the centre of its label – a huge move for a tipple that is widely seen as synonymous with men. In 2023, Hedonism became a Limited Annual Release, and Compass Box began working with a different female artist each year to reimagine the original Hedonism woman in their own eyes.
The tradition continues with Gillan, with just 13,126 bottles of Hedonism 2026 set to be released worldwide. Director of whiskymaking, Angela D’Orazio, included some of the oldest components used in Hedonism to date, including a 30-year-old from Strathclyde Distillery, whiskies ranging from 20 to 24 years old from Port Dundas and Cameronbridge Distillery, alongside some historic blended grain parcels. The result? A warm and rich whisky with notes of clove-spiced fruitcake, dates and toffee.
Here, we sit down with Gillan to discuss influential women, how becoming a mother has changed how she views the world, and why shooting the remake of Highlander – alongside Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe – will be a homecoming in more ways than one.
It’s a huge part of my identity. When I think about what I love about Scotland, the top one is the people; it’s the people that make the place. It is a brilliant nationality to be; the sense of humour even in the darkest moments, and humour in the face of adversity is a characteristic of the Scots. They are just lovely people.
My mum is from Glasgow, a place called Easter House, and she’s about as Scottish as a Scottish person can get and has this gigantic family. They were the most boisterous, funny women that would be making jokes in the most inappropriate times and places. The joy of family, and laughter, is such a huge part of who I am. That’s what I miss the most.
My whole life was centred around food and drink – and it still is. The food is great in Inverness; my mum would make mince and tatties and doughboys. I don’t know anyone that enjoys these that didn’t grow up on them but there’s nothing better in the world. My mum made that for me [when I was pregnant]; it sent me into labour and I had the baby immediately after.
One of the biggest things that has happened in my life recently is becoming a mother for the first time. Since becoming a mother [to my daughter Clementine in November 2024], my view on hedonism has changed and now what it means to me is finding those moments of indulgence for you and for pure enjoyment, and not for anyone else. Those moments are so rare as a new mother. Suddenly everything has become secondary to this other life. I love that, I really do, but it is also important to remember that you are an individual and you deserve moments of indulgence and a little hedonism. It is really good for the soul. For me, the perfect way to do that is with a glass of whisky.
It’s delicious, for a start, and I like what the Hedonism collection stands for. I like that Hedonism embraces women in a way that a lot of other whiskies don’t. It is a complete honour and not what I ever saw in my future. It feels right because whisky is such a huge part of where I’m from.
My mother is my inspiration: one of eight, lived in a one bedroom apartment, and then moved to Inverness, still all crammed into one house. Each and every one of the siblings has gone out into the world and seized every moment. It was so inspirational to have grown up around that family of predominantly women who are all out there and getting after it!
They all have the strongest work ethics I’ve seen and they’re all really entrepreneurial, so I think I grew up thinking that was normal and that all women start businesses. Then I got introduced to the rest of the world and could see there was a real uphill battle going on here.
I’ve met so many women [in my career] that are completely inspiring. Zoe Saldana is an example of someone who I totally look up to; she plays my sister in the Marvel movies and she’s got three kids while maintaining the biggest career on the planet and is so humble.
As much as I want to choose Elvis, it has to be my friend Donna, who I grew up with in Inverness. We found whisky together; it was very much a shared experience and it would be a perfect full circle moment to get this bottle of whisky, go down to the old abandoned road we used to drink on and share it with her.
I am currently filming the new Jumanji film in Los Angeles, but we’re about to go to Hawaii to film more scenes. I am loving it and having the absolute time of my life. This one is going to be the best one yet. It’s so funny and it is one of those movies where, wherever you point the camera, someone is doing something hilarious. We’re body-swapping and playing different characters. I can’t wait for you all to see what Ruby Roundhouse is doing this time as it is so unexpected.
Then I get to go to Scotland to film the remake of Highlander, which is my dream project because I get to make a new version of a film I genuinely love in the place that I grew up. It’s going to be worlds colliding and I can’t believe I get to see my friends while making a giant movie.
I like it with some ice so that it is a tiny bit diluted. It brings out the flavours. I sometimes make a cocktail with ginger beer and soda water. Hedonism is one to enjoy solo. It stands up on its own.
Compass Box Hedonism 2026 is available to pre-order at masterofmalt.com, with general release from 1 March 2026.
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