Keira Knightley has opened up about her ‘very brutal’ experience after filming the Pirates of The Caribbean films.
The 39-year-old has shared what it was like being ‘stalked by men’ in her early 20s, having taken the role of a lifetime at 17 until she was around 21.
Knightley, who had already bagged herself roles in Bend It Like Beckham, and The Hole before being cast in the franchise, which began in 2003 when Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl was released.
She then went on to reprise her role in four out of five films, with the 6th instalment still in the works (Tales of The Code: Wedlocked prequel).
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Knightley’s short cameo in the final Pirates film to date, 2017's Salazar's Revenge was the most beautiful scene ever.
However, at the time her newfound fame came at a cost.
She was starring alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom as socialite-turned-troublemaker Elizabeth Swann in the Disney series.
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While the franchise grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide, and went on to become the 16th highest-grossing film franchise ever, it took away something from her.
She told the Los Angeles Times: “It’s very brutal to have your privacy taken away in your teenage years, early 20s, and to be put under that scrutiny at a point when you are still growing.
“Having said that, I wouldn’t have the financial stability or the career that I do now without that period.”
She went on to say that there was a ‘five-year period between the age of 17 and 21-ish’ that was incredibly successful for her career, and she admitted that ‘I’m never going to have that kind of success again’.
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The films ‘totally set me up for life.’
But ‘it came at a big cost’ when paparazzi and men started behaving incredibly inappropriately towards her.
It even led to her refusing to star in certain films and it took years of therapy to help her to heal from the treatment she received.
At the time her ‘jaw dropped’ when it was happening, but she didn’t know what to do.
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In the end, she recognised the parallels between how someone is spoken to before or after a rape, which lays blame on the victim, whilst also accusing them of wanting it to happen.
A type of ‘this is what you get’ for being famous type of spiel from the press.
She said: “I was very clear on it being absolutely shocking. There was an amount of gaslighting to be told by a load of men that ‘you wanted this’.
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“It was rape speak. You know, ‘This is what you deserve.’ It was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere.”
The Pride & Prejudice actress then went on to say that men were no different towards her.
She added: “They very specifically meant I wanted to be stalked by men. Whether that was stalking because somebody was mentally ill, or because people were earning money from it — it felt the same to me.
“It was a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye.”
Topics: Celebrity, TV And Film
Britt Jones