Keira Knightley is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Her most popular roles havent given her much of a chance to prove her talent. When the latest film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice is released, Knightley in the role of Elizabeth Bennet, is going to surprise everyone who saw her as an action star in the Pirates of the Caribbean and King Arthur.
Check out the official site for Pride & Prejudice
Daniel Robert Epstein: Past TV and film adaptations of Pride & Prejudice centered around the male character of Mr. Darcy, but in this version it belongs to Elizabeth, what do you think of that?
Keira Knightley: When you read the book is definitely told through Lizzie's eyes. One of the first things that [director] Joe [Wright] said is that he really wanted this to be through Elizabeth's eyes, so you fall in love with Darcy as she does. You hate him at the beginning and you gradually change your mind so that was a conscious thing.
DRE: Of course that makes it a better part for you.
KK: Yeah, when I first heard that they were going to do it I was working on The Jacket. My agent phoned up and told me they hadnt found their Elizabeth Bennet yet. I wasnt sure if I wanted to do it because I've been so obsessed with Pride & Prejudice since I was about seven. I have all of Jane Austens books on tape and I was obsessed with the BBC version. My agent told me I was being a wuss and that I should shut up.
DRE: What convinced you?
KK: The first time I met Joe was in Montreal when I was doing The Jacket and it was a disastrous meeting. He arrived three hours late and he had the worst jet lag ever so it had all gone wrong. My agent convinced me to meet him again in London. Then we met again and we just got on like a house on fire. I knew I'd got it, when I went up to leave, he went Keira, pull your fucking trousers up! That was it. [laughs] A perfect beginning.
In terms of the role, I was just terrified that I was going to do a total copy of Jennifer Ehle's performance from the BBC version. It was my mom that said to me, Read the book again, I guarantee that you will see Elizabeth Bennet as yourself. She was absolutely right. Also what was really helpful, was we had letters from historians so actually learning about the period and specifically learning about women's position at that period was really helpful.
DRE: The chemistry between you and Matthew MacFadyen was great. Was that always there or did you two work at it?
KK: I was cast before we found our Mr. Darcy so I was in on a lot of the auditions. They were all fantastic but I love Matthew to pieces. There were certain people I clicked with but for some reason, as soon as we did the scene together, it just absolutely clicked. Sometimes you can have great actors working together and yet something just slightly misses.
DRE: What was your favorite scene in Pride & Prejudice?
KK: My very romantic moment when I was strapped to the cliff waiting for the perfect cloud. It was completely magical. That was quite a good day [laughs].
DRE: 2005 will see four Keira Knightley films released, are you worried about being overexposed?
KK: I think they're all good movies. The Jacket is a really good movie but it just didn't capture people's imagination. It wasn't what audiences wanted at that moment but that's what's great about DVDs. I think people will see it and think it's a really good movie. It was a bit scary when I heard that Pride & Prejudice and Domino were going to be release so close together. But they're total opposites. It's actually quite nice because I have two movies that I'm so proud of coming out at the same time which probably won't happen again that.
DRE: How are the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels going?
KK: Were at 100 days of shooting which halfway through. We have at least another 100 to go.
DRE: Whats the secret of this franchise?
KK: No idea. It's still a mystery. What's amazing is that there is such a wealth of stories with pirates. The clever thing is that it's got humor for adults and it's got humor for kids which makes for the best kind of kids movie.
DRE: How key is Johnny Depp to that?
KK: Completely because it wasn't originally written like that. The character as it was written was completely straight, so that character is entirely his and the director Gore Verbinski. None of us knew if it would work because it was so off the wall.
DRE: Are you having a good time making them?
KK: Its not the same as doing the first one. It's the first time I've ever had to go back to a role and it's weird because I'm my biggest critic by a mile. You give me my worst review ever and times it by about ten, that's where I'd put myself. Therefore I possibly hate every performance I've done so it's really difficult to go back to a performance and keep that continuity. Though at the same time its exciting.
DRE: Do you ever feel pressure to stay thin?
KK: Of course. It's a visual media so I'd be stupid if I didn't know that looks had something to do with it. As far as my body goes, it is what it is. I'm afraid it's genetics as far as anything else. I think that it's quite worrying now, because it's definitely a trend therefore you get people to try and force their bodies into something that it naturally isn't. I think that's terrifying, you can only do what your body can do. I don't really workout very much, so I guess it's pretty natural.
DRE: Would you ever get plastic surgery?
KK: Oh fuck no, I'm British. [laughs] Don't come near me with a knife!
DRE: Do you still have friends from before your breakout roles?
KK: I do have a lot of friends from school that have absolutely nothing to do with the business.
DRE: Do you have trouble making new friends because of your fame? I would imagine everyone wants to be friends with you now.
KK: I haven't found everyone wants to be my friend! People keep saying that, I must come off like a real bitch or something [laughs]. Pride & Prejudice is a very special piece for me, because it was the first time that I worked with girls my own age. On films I'd always been the youngest by a mile, so I was always slightly outside. I was nineteen when I did Pride & Prejudice and Jena Malone and Carey Mulligan were 19 as well. We're all great friends now and its the first job that I've done where I've actually really kept in contact with the people Ive worked with.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official site for Pride & Prejudice
Daniel Robert Epstein: Past TV and film adaptations of Pride & Prejudice centered around the male character of Mr. Darcy, but in this version it belongs to Elizabeth, what do you think of that?
Keira Knightley: When you read the book is definitely told through Lizzie's eyes. One of the first things that [director] Joe [Wright] said is that he really wanted this to be through Elizabeth's eyes, so you fall in love with Darcy as she does. You hate him at the beginning and you gradually change your mind so that was a conscious thing.
DRE: Of course that makes it a better part for you.
KK: Yeah, when I first heard that they were going to do it I was working on The Jacket. My agent phoned up and told me they hadnt found their Elizabeth Bennet yet. I wasnt sure if I wanted to do it because I've been so obsessed with Pride & Prejudice since I was about seven. I have all of Jane Austens books on tape and I was obsessed with the BBC version. My agent told me I was being a wuss and that I should shut up.
DRE: What convinced you?
KK: The first time I met Joe was in Montreal when I was doing The Jacket and it was a disastrous meeting. He arrived three hours late and he had the worst jet lag ever so it had all gone wrong. My agent convinced me to meet him again in London. Then we met again and we just got on like a house on fire. I knew I'd got it, when I went up to leave, he went Keira, pull your fucking trousers up! That was it. [laughs] A perfect beginning.
In terms of the role, I was just terrified that I was going to do a total copy of Jennifer Ehle's performance from the BBC version. It was my mom that said to me, Read the book again, I guarantee that you will see Elizabeth Bennet as yourself. She was absolutely right. Also what was really helpful, was we had letters from historians so actually learning about the period and specifically learning about women's position at that period was really helpful.
DRE: The chemistry between you and Matthew MacFadyen was great. Was that always there or did you two work at it?
KK: I was cast before we found our Mr. Darcy so I was in on a lot of the auditions. They were all fantastic but I love Matthew to pieces. There were certain people I clicked with but for some reason, as soon as we did the scene together, it just absolutely clicked. Sometimes you can have great actors working together and yet something just slightly misses.
DRE: What was your favorite scene in Pride & Prejudice?
KK: My very romantic moment when I was strapped to the cliff waiting for the perfect cloud. It was completely magical. That was quite a good day [laughs].
DRE: 2005 will see four Keira Knightley films released, are you worried about being overexposed?
KK: I think they're all good movies. The Jacket is a really good movie but it just didn't capture people's imagination. It wasn't what audiences wanted at that moment but that's what's great about DVDs. I think people will see it and think it's a really good movie. It was a bit scary when I heard that Pride & Prejudice and Domino were going to be release so close together. But they're total opposites. It's actually quite nice because I have two movies that I'm so proud of coming out at the same time which probably won't happen again that.
DRE: How are the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels going?
KK: Were at 100 days of shooting which halfway through. We have at least another 100 to go.
DRE: Whats the secret of this franchise?
KK: No idea. It's still a mystery. What's amazing is that there is such a wealth of stories with pirates. The clever thing is that it's got humor for adults and it's got humor for kids which makes for the best kind of kids movie.
DRE: How key is Johnny Depp to that?
KK: Completely because it wasn't originally written like that. The character as it was written was completely straight, so that character is entirely his and the director Gore Verbinski. None of us knew if it would work because it was so off the wall.
DRE: Are you having a good time making them?
KK: Its not the same as doing the first one. It's the first time I've ever had to go back to a role and it's weird because I'm my biggest critic by a mile. You give me my worst review ever and times it by about ten, that's where I'd put myself. Therefore I possibly hate every performance I've done so it's really difficult to go back to a performance and keep that continuity. Though at the same time its exciting.
DRE: Do you ever feel pressure to stay thin?
KK: Of course. It's a visual media so I'd be stupid if I didn't know that looks had something to do with it. As far as my body goes, it is what it is. I'm afraid it's genetics as far as anything else. I think that it's quite worrying now, because it's definitely a trend therefore you get people to try and force their bodies into something that it naturally isn't. I think that's terrifying, you can only do what your body can do. I don't really workout very much, so I guess it's pretty natural.
DRE: Would you ever get plastic surgery?
KK: Oh fuck no, I'm British. [laughs] Don't come near me with a knife!
DRE: Do you still have friends from before your breakout roles?
KK: I do have a lot of friends from school that have absolutely nothing to do with the business.
DRE: Do you have trouble making new friends because of your fame? I would imagine everyone wants to be friends with you now.
KK: I haven't found everyone wants to be my friend! People keep saying that, I must come off like a real bitch or something [laughs]. Pride & Prejudice is a very special piece for me, because it was the first time that I worked with girls my own age. On films I'd always been the youngest by a mile, so I was always slightly outside. I was nineteen when I did Pride & Prejudice and Jena Malone and Carey Mulligan were 19 as well. We're all great friends now and its the first job that I've done where I've actually really kept in contact with the people Ive worked with.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 27 of 27 COMMENTS
Bastardo said:
I just saw Domino. Worst. Movie. Ever.
It was pretty damn bad. It's pretty sad when a movie that can't be saved by Keira's hotness.