Keira Knightley has spoken candidly about the difficulties she experienced both during and after her time in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
The now 39-year-old actress shot to global fame as Elizabeth Swann—a governor’s daughter who evolves into a fearless pirate leader—starring alongside Johnny Depp’s iconic Captain Jack Sparrow and Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner.
Reflecting on that chapter of her life, Knightley told The Times, “It’s a funny thing when something is both making you and breaking you at the same time.”
While the Pirates films brought massive commercial success, she revealed they also made her a target for harsh public criticism.
“People thought I was terrible because of those movies,” she admitted. “But ironically, their success opened the door for the roles that led to my Oscar nominations—for Pride & Prejudice and The Imitation Game.”
“They’re the most successful films I’ll ever be part of, and yet they were also the reason I was publicly torn down,” she shared. “So, they occupy a very conflicted space in my mind.”
The overwhelming intensity of working on such high-profile projects—paired with the relentless public scrutiny—ultimately led Knightley to step away from large film franchises moving forward.
In a 2019 interview with The Telegraph, she revealed that she went through “many years of therapy” to manage the intense pressures of living in the public eye.
“The fame that came with those films—I just couldn’t handle it,” she admitted.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar in 2023, Knightley reflected on the challenges of playing Elizabeth Swann—a character often portrayed more as an object of desire than a fully developed person.
“It was strange going from being such a tomboy to being projected as the complete opposite,” she shared. “I felt incredibly constrained. I felt stuck.”
After stepping back from acting in the wake of Pirates of the Caribbean and other major roles, Knightley has since found a healthier balance between her career and personal life.
Now living in London with her husband, musician James Righton, and their two children, she continues to choose roles that align with her values and creative passions.
