Revealed in the eyes of the general public by the success of the film “Play it like Beckham”, Keira Knightley began her career when she was still a teenager. In 2003, when she was only 17, she landed the leading female role in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” saga, slipping into the shoes of Elizabeth Swann, a young girl from a good family who becomes a pirate.
Today, this role is one of those for which she is known to the general public, particularly since she has taken it up several times. But she also starred in films such as “King Arthur” and “Pride and Prejudice”, which earned her multiple awards.
A bad memory of “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Keira Knightley is aware of this: the blockbuster saga allowed her to make herself known, and therefore to land other types of roles. But she still remembers the reception received from certain spectators when the first feature film was released. “It’s funny when you have something that makes you and breaks you at the same time,” she explains in the columns of the Times of London.
“I got stoned for the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies, and yet it was because I made them that I had the opportunity to be nominated for an Oscar (thanks to 'Pride and Prejudice ” and “The Imitation Game”, editor's note). These are the most successful films that I have been involved in and that's why I was destroyed publicly. So it's a very confusing subject in my head”, she admits.
She no longer wants to star in franchises
Keira Knightley's experience is similar to that of Natalie Portman, who received similar criticism after her participation in the prequel to the “Star Wars” saga a few years earlier. Today, the actress is clear: franchises are over for her. “Schedules are rubbish. It represents years of your life, you have no control over where you film, how long you film, what you film…”
A schedule that is far too intense for the 39-year-old actress and mother of two little girls.
