Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/ShowBizIreland/Disney
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Keira Knightley is well aware of just how integral Pirates of the Caribbean is to her successful career but isn’t shy about highlighting the issues it caused.
Speaking to the Times in a recent interview, Knightley highlighted the many difficulties of working on big film franchises and why she is steering clear of them now.
She also touched upon the negative impact it had on her life despite it helping to propel her career forward.
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Speaking about the franchise, Knightley said: “It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time.
“I was seen as s*** because of them, and yet, because they did so well, I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for.”
After starring in the first film, Knightley saw her first Oscar nomination, Best Actress, for her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in 2005’s Pride and Prejudice.
In 2014, she would again go on to get the academy’s attention, this time hoping to take the Oscar home for Best Supporting Actress, for her portrayal of Joan Clarke in WW2 drama The Imitation Game.
Knightley continued: “They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of, and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly.
“So they’re a very confused place in my head.”
Knightley was only 18 when she became a global star, starring alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.
Due to the difficulties she experienced, she has vowed not to get involved in big film franchises again.
Explaining this decision she said: “The hours are insane. It’s years of your life, you have no control over where you’re filming, how long you’re filming, what you’re filming.”
Knightley has previously spoken about the mental health issues that arose from the continuous criticism at such a young age.
In 2018, she spoke about suffering a mental breakdown and being diagnosed with PTSD when she was 22, however, Knightley claimed she now doesn’t remember much of that period.
She added: “In that classic trauma way I don’t remember it.
“There’s been a complete delete, and then some things will come up, and I’ll suddenly have a very bodily memory of it because, ultimately, it’s public shaming, isn’t it?
“It’s obviously part of my psyche, given how young I was when it happened. I’ve been made around it.”
She does have a clear memory of the criticism she faced around her weight when she was becoming a more well-known star.
She said: “I remember viscerally one of the Olsen twins [Mary-Kate Olsen] had anorexia, and she went into a clinic.
“I remember being asked about it on a press tour, like it was a joke. She was meant to be shamed for seeking help for anorexia.
“I remember sitting there just being like, ‘Wow, this is wild'. Can you imagine? … That made me really emotional. That’s not even about me, it’s about her. I still can’t bear it.”