How playing Elizabeth Bennet changed Keira
As Pride & Prejudice marks its 20th anniversary this year, Keira Knightley is revisiting the film that she says redefined how she was viewed in Hollywood. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the British actor opened up about her career trajectory before and after the 2005 Jane Austen adaptation, which earned her an Academy Award nomination at just 20 years old.
Knightley, who had already achieved global recognition for her roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Bend It Like Beckham, said she felt dismissed by critics early in her career despite commercial success.
"Pirates of the Caribbean had already come out, but I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress," Knightley admitted. "But I had this phenomenally big success with Pirates. And I think Pride & Prejudice was the first one that was a phenomenally big success, but was also critically acclaimed."
Knightley said the response to Pride & Prejudice stood in stark contrast to the reception of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was released around the same time. "I got the worst reviews ever for that, and then also being nominated for an Oscar at the same time — it was, in my 21-year-old head, quite confusing."
Reflecting on her earlier breakout role in Bend It Like Beckham, which was released when she was just 17, Knightley revealed that the reviews she remembers most were the negative ones. "All those voices of self-doubt are so loud when you are in your teens or 20s," she said. "But in an adult brain that's got a lot of experience, you can kind of go, 'You know what? It's okay. Today may not be my day, but tomorrow it might be better.'"
The actor has previously described 2005 as a year of extremes. Speaking to The Times, she called it a "making and breaking" moment in her career. "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 said. "So they're a very confused place in my head."
Knightley's candid reflections arrive as Pride & Prejudice enjoys renewed attention two decades on, with fans and critics alike continuing to celebrate its portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet - a role that, for Knightley, was as redemptive as it was career-defining.
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Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Express Tribune
How playing Elizabeth Bennet changed Keira
As Pride & Prejudice marks its 20th anniversary this year, Keira Knightley is revisiting the film that she says redefined how she was viewed in Hollywood. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the British actor opened up about her career trajectory before and after the 2005 Jane Austen adaptation, which earned her an Academy Award nomination at just 20 years old. Knightley, who had already achieved global recognition for her roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Bend It Like Beckham, said she felt dismissed by critics early in her career despite commercial success. "Pirates of the Caribbean had already come out, but I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress," Knightley admitted. "But I had this phenomenally big success with Pirates. And I think Pride & Prejudice was the first one that was a phenomenally big success, but was also critically acclaimed." Knightley said the response to Pride & Prejudice stood in stark contrast to the reception of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was released around the same time. "I got the worst reviews ever for that, and then also being nominated for an Oscar at the same time — it was, in my 21-year-old head, quite confusing." Reflecting on her earlier breakout role in Bend It Like Beckham, which was released when she was just 17, Knightley revealed that the reviews she remembers most were the negative ones. "All those voices of self-doubt are so loud when you are in your teens or 20s," she said. "But in an adult brain that's got a lot of experience, you can kind of go, 'You know what? It's okay. Today may not be my day, but tomorrow it might be better.'" The actor has previously described 2005 as a year of extremes. Speaking to The Times, she called it a "making and breaking" moment in her career. "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 said. "So they're a very confused place in my head." Knightley's candid reflections arrive as Pride & Prejudice enjoys renewed attention two decades on, with fans and critics alike continuing to celebrate its portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet - a role that, for Knightley, was as redemptive as it was career-defining.
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a day ago
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Sir David Beckham achieves ultimate goal
The royal family were quick to embrace David Beckham, inviting him to the weddings of Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. PHOTO: AFP David Beckham's knighthood is the culmination of years of tireless efforts to transcend football and turn himself into a global icon at the "intersection of sport, fashion and business." He had long dreamed of becoming a sir and King Charles III made it a reality when he announced his birthday's honours list on Friday, marking the end of a decades-long journey travelled with his Spice Girl wife Victoria, creator of the eponymous fashion brand. The honour, one of the highest bestowed by the UK state, "is a powerful symbolic marker", Marie Agnes Parmentier, professor of marketing at the University of Montreal and author of several papers on "Posh and Becks", explained to AFP. It "reinforces his image as a respectable, committed, and, first and foremost, British man," she added. The knighthood could present new opportunities for the 50-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, "particularly in diplomatic, charitable or political spheres", said Parmentier. The former free-kick ace, from a modest East London background, diversified his career after retiring from football in 2013, but success was the result of planning long before he hung up his boots. "I knew my career was going to end at some point and I wanted to have a career after football," he said in the documentary series "Beckham", which aired on Netflix in 2023. Pioneer At the height of his football career, Beckham was signing deals with top clothing and beauty brands, building an audience that cut across gender, age and nationality — becoming the first England player to crack the US market. The successful brand was built on his always immaculate appearance and nearly-always exemplary off-field behaviour, coupled with an unwavering drive to become a pioneer. This required a certain amount of courage, given that English football in the 1990s was generally the preserve of no-nonsense lads more interested in the pub than the catwalk. His appearance in a sarong during the 1998 World Cup, revelations that he used make-up, and his eccentric hairstyles were all feverishly gobbled up by the UK's tabloid press. Beckham is still capitalising on the fascination, almost 30 years later. He unveiled his first collection for Hugo Boss in April, is the founder of the Inter Miami football club and the "Studio 99" production company, and has been a UNICEF ambassador for 20 years. He is now best known not for football, "but for being Beckham, the brand", said sociologist Ellis Cashmore. It is a brand worth £500 million ($676 million), according to The Times newspaper's 2025 ranking. From Outcast to Hero The Netflix show exposed the couple to an emerging younger audience, cementing their fame for the foreseeable future. Beckham "embodies a celebrity at the intersection of sport, fashion, entertainment and business," explained Parmentier. The couple's enduring visibility "is based on a sophisticated media strategy and an ability to embody universal values such as work, family and style," she added. But it has been a long and bumpy road, Cashmore pointed out. In 1998, Beckham was called the most hated man in England after he petulantly kicked out at Argentina's Diego Simeone during their World Cup round of 16 game. Beckham was harshly sent off and England lost to their bitter rivals in a penalty shoot-out. Those who had bitten their tongue about his off-field flamboyance gave full vent to their feelings. National headlines the next day included "10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy" (Daily Mirror) and "You're Just A Joke Becks" (Daily Mail). Months of "hell" followed, with death threats, spitting and boos accompanying Beckham wherever he went. "Wherever I went I got abused, every single day," he said. "I find it hard to talk through what I went through because it was so extreme. The whole country hated me." But the ordeal only sharpened Beckham's focus. A year later, he finished second in the Ballon d'Or as he helped Manchester United claim an unprecedented treble, winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. It was often said that Beckham's career seemed to be scripted by a movie writer, never more so than when the fallen idol took his revenge by scoring the winning goal against perennial rivals Argentina in the 2002 World Cup, redeeming his national hero status.
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Beckham, Oldman knighted
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