Credit: Pirates of the Caribbean
Keira Knightley has been around forever, hasn’t she? The English actress has starred in many blockbusters and independent films since 1999. With over 44 films under her belt and an agent at the tender age of six, it’s worth mentioning a few more or less well-known facts about the famous British actress. Keira Knightley had her breakthrough in the football film “Bend it Like Beckham,” in which she played the protagonist’s best friend.
5. Talent runs in the family
Keira grew up in London, in a family full of actors, er parents being Will Knightley, who has acted in many English television shows, and screenwriter and actress Sharman Macdonald. Even her older brother Caleb is in the business, as he has made a name for himself as a movie sound composer. So it’s safe to say that stardom runs in the family.
Especially her mum, Scottish playwright Sharman Macdonald inspired Knightley a great deal. For example, by pushing her to fight again when she was a child, she pushedning disorder, when she was a child.
Credita Knightley suffers from dyslexia
She has dyslexia, which is probably one of the most surprising facts about the actress. I was undoubtedly floored since she had to learn written dialogues daily. However, her learning difficulties also apparently got her into acting. This disorder makes it challenging to relate speech sounds to letters and words, resulting in difficulty reading. Her mother supported her tremendously as she insisted that once she is able to read an Emma Thompscanion of “Sense and Sensibility,” she will get an agent to kickstart her acting career. She was only six years old at the time, but so motivated by her mother’s promises she kept reading every night and eventually, with time, combated her dyslexia. Nowadays, Knightley isn’t at all affected by her learning disorder when it comes to her ability to memorize and read scripts.
3. She was extremely young in some of her most prominent roles
Since we have established that she started super young due to her actor-packed family, let’s take a look at her first role known to the general public, which is the one of Juliet in “Love Actually” (2003), the popular Christmas rom-com following eight couples in London. The ensemble cast film was a huge success, grossing over hugely successfulllars worldwide. Nowadays it’s a Christmas staple.
Knightley’s character Juliet’s wedding is videotaped by the best man, her husband’s best friend Mark, who is secretly in love with her. Their storyline culminates in the famous scene where he holds up many large cue cards and plays a boombox, pretending to be Christmas Carols. She kisses him shortly but returns to her husband Peter after he confesses his love for her. It’s a sweet moment. But, what many don’t know is the woman was 18!!!
Keira Knightley was eighteen when the movie was shot, thus practically a teenager, when she played a young woman getting married, who was probably supposed to be in her mid-20s. That’s crazy.
Mind you this, she was also eighteen years ; shehen the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie came out, which started the successful franchise starring Keira Knightley alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.
Credit: Pirates of the Caribbean
2. A well-established actress with a soft spot for period dramas
Moving on to her most famous roles, Knightley has ranged from “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003), “Atonement” (2007), and “Anna Karenina” (2012) to “The Imitation Game” (2014). Just to name a few of her most successful films.
What’s striking when looking at her acting catalog is that her career has been dominated by historical dramas, such as those mentioned above, but also, to name but a few other magnifying performances of her; “King Arthur” (2004), “A Dangerous Method” (2011) or her latest addition to her period pieces, “Colette” (2018), in which she plays the Parisian ghostwriter Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, who struggles against 20th-century societal constraints and her husband who takes credit for her writing.
Therefore, we got to admit through her brilliant performances and frequency, it’s as if Knightley was handmade for period pieces. Here, she shines the most. Haven’t we all swooned over her performance as Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” adaptation? She is the epitome of a competent, young rebellious woman of the 19th century who fights against societal norms and arranged notions of love.
Credit: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
1. Private and family life
And did you know Knightley is happily married since 2013?has beenn top of that, to an Indie-rockstar? She currently lives in London with her husband James Righton and their daugh,ters Edie and ,Delilah, keeping her private life exactly that, private.