Keira Knightley turns 40 years old next March. I can’t believe it! To many people, she’ll always be the youthful beauty of her earliest films. She’s still beautiful, of course, although she hasn’t worked as consistently in her 30s. That’s mostly because she fell in love, got married and gave birth to two daughters. Her work schedule is now limited to whatever can be shot quickly in between the girls’ school terms. I have to say, Keira got very lucky in marriage – she and James Righton seem very well-suited. She’s more of an introvert, he’s more outgoing, he gets her out of her shell, and he seems like a very hands-on dad. Keira is currently promoting her new Netflix series, Black Doves, and she recently chatted with the Times:
She just had her first weekend alone, without her kids, for the first time in years: “I thought, I just want to be completely on my own. I want to do strange cultural things just for me and I want to walk really, really far, and I want to go and eat noodles. It was amazing.”
On intimacy coordinators: “The most famous sex scene that I’ve done, and the one that worked the best, was in Atonement. That was brilliant because it was storyboarded.” There’s now more male nudity too. “It’s really upped. There’s a lot of bottoms. It’s amazing. And, actually, female nudity has gone down quite a lot, which is interesting.”
She has said no to a lot of work because of her kids: These days Knightley takes work that enables her daughters, Edie, nine, and Delilah, five, to stay settled in school. She previously backed out of the 2022 TV drama The Essex Serpent (Claire Danes took over) when it clashed with childcare commitments. “I couldn’t go job to job [abroad] now. It wouldn’t be in any way fair on them, and I wouldn’t want to. I’ve chosen to have children, I want to bring them up, so I’ve had to take a major step back.”
On the old speculation that she had an eating disorder: “I knew I wasn’t. I knew I was eating… 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.”
The way the culture has changed: “I remember viscerally one of the Olsen twins had anorexia, and she went into a clinic,” Knightley says, referring to the actress turned fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen (who sought professional help aged 18 in 2004). “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.”
The ‘Pirates’ films: “It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time. 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. So they’re a very confused place in my head.” She rules out appearing in a franchise again: “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.”
She regrets not studying at the Open University. “Particularly for a young girl, I think you need those pieces of paper saying that you’re smart, otherwise people think you’re stupid, particularly looking the way I did. That was hard.”
She’s been with James since 2011 & married for 11 years: “It’s good for an actress and a musician, isn’t it? We really annoy each other. But, f–k, do we laugh… If James comes [to my work events], they’re fun. James believes it is his right to have a good time and he will create it anywhere he goes.” Knightley prefers an intimate dinner to a big industry bash. “Unless I’m really drunk, and you can’t be if you’re at one of those events, I find it quite intense and quite difficult. James manages to break formality with people and I can’t do that.”
Her Dr Martens boots: “I’ve got a brown pair and a black pair, and it’s very hard to ever take them off. I’ve no idea how to walk in heels any more.”
She doesn’t want to do dark, depressing movies: “I’ve been really surprised in the past few years about what I’ve said no to. I’ve wanted it to be more pure entertainment and maybe that’s because I’ve needed that. I keep being offered things about children dying or about mothers dying. Can’t do it. There’s nothing more pleasurable than sitting down watching Strictly Come Dancing with your nine-year-old. It’s f***ing fabulous.”
I remember Keira’s miserable 20s, and how she felt like she turned a page when she entered her 30s. I think some of that page-turning was just… finding the right guy, prioritizing other things besides her career, giving herself a break overall. I’m glad that she seems so happy these days. I would love to see her go back to corset-dramas, but I don’t think she’s interested at this point. I would love to know what else she’s said no to in recent years.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
- Keira Knightley attends the Debate Gala and European Premiere of ‘Official Secrets’ at The 63rd BFI London Film Festival at Embankment Gardens, London, England, UK on Thursday 10 October 2019. Picture by Justin Ng/Retna/Avalon.,Image: 539174082, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon/Avalon
- Keira Knightley,Image: 705282507, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Baptiste Autissier/Panoramic/Avalon
- Keira Knightley and James Righton in the royal box during the women’s quarter final between former champion Elena Rybakina (KAZ) and Elina Svitolina (UKR) at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Club, London, United Kingdom , 10 July 2024,Image: 888804673, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg/Avalon/Avalon
- Keira Knightley promotes ‘Boston Strangler on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ Featuring: Keira Knightley Where: New York, New York, United States When: 15 Mar 2023 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
- Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 – Chanel – Front Row Featuring: Keira Knightley and husband James Righton Where: Paris, France When: 25 Jun 2024 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
This was a really interesting interview. I have missed her doing press!
It would have been nice if she acknowledged all that Pirates money is what allowed her stay home and raise her kids. Not many families have that option.
She literally did and has done many times.
“Having said that, I wouldn’t have the financial stability or the career that I do now without that period. I had a five-year period between the age of 17 and 21-ish, and I’m never going to have that kind of success again. It totally set me up for life. Did it come at a cost? Yes, it did. It came at a big cost.”
You know…you can also just downsize your life. That’s a possibility. I’ve sacrificed so much freaking income to be more present with my kid. It’s not fair, shouldn’t happen, blahblahblah…but it does. And it shows, in my life. I don’t have a house (I rent). I don’t have tons of stuff. My car is ancient. I don’t consume much at all.
Sometimes a choice is just a choice, not a flex or a privilege.
The male brain cannot comprehend.
I adore her, and Black Doves is awesome. The movie she did about the Boston Strangler was also excellent.