Keira Knightley reflected on her experience starring as Elizabeth Swann in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise during a recent chat with The Times.
“It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time,” the actress shared. “I was seen as sh*t 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.”
“They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly,” she added. “So, they’re a very confused place in my head.”
Some of Knightley’s early works included British films and TV shows as well as ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ and ‘Bend It Like Beckham.’ But the first ‘Pirates’ film’s success was what raised her profile in Hollywood at the age of 18.
Her career continued with roles in 2005’s ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ for which she received an Oscar nomination, and ‘Atonement,’ nominated for Best Picture at the ceremony.
Knightley later returned to play Elizabeth in two ‘Pirates’ sequels, 2006’s ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ and 2007’s ‘At World’s End,’ though neither did as well as ‘Curse of the Black Pearl.’
The actress skipped the 2011 sequel ‘On Stranger Tides’ and only made a cameo in the 2017 sequel ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales,’ also non-favorable by critics.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is now working on a reboot of the ‘Pirates’ franchise for Disney. New version will reportedly not feature characters from the previous films though Bruckheimer hopes to bring Johnny Depp back.
