/Film’s Jeremy Mathai recently spoke with Klementieff about developing the character of Paris. When she asked if she came up with any particular backstory for the character, the actress revealed that she didn’t use such a standard method:
“I don’t really do these things, to be honest with you. I’m just more: I make my little Pom sauce [laughs]. No, but I worked on the lone wolf, cowboy, rebellious vibe. I was inspired by weird bird videos, [the] shoebill stork. It is such a rare prehistoric bird. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my character.’ [laughs].”
In fact, when one looks at images of the powerful and mysterious Shoebill Stork, it’s easy to see just how much character the bird has on its own. He looks like a refugee from Jurassic Park, something you wouldn’t want to see hanging out in a dark alley blocking your way. Which, not coincidentally, is exactly what Paris does to Ethan Hunt in “Dead Reckoning,” in as intimidating a moment as it sounds.
While Klementieff uses the stork primarily to inspire Paris’s predatory attitude and movements, he also drew inspiration from the bird for the character’s appearance, mentioning in this interview for Rotten Tomatoes. He didn’t need to do much, though, as he told /Film, “I think I look a bit like the bird,” and for proof of that, look no further than the header image of this article.