Keira Knightley reveals sad reason she refuses to appear in certain films after Pirates of the Caribbean

Despite Kiera Knightley crediting Pirates of the Caribbean for having sky-rocketed her into the spotlight, she says that because of her experience filming it she'll never star in a certain type of movie again.

Knightley was still a teenager when cast in the debut movie, appearing in The Curse of the Black Pearl aged just 17.

By this point, she'd only played supporting roles in cult classics like Bend It Like Beckham, and The Hole.

In 2003, however, she was offered several breakthrough roles, including alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom as socialite-turned-troublemaker Elizabeth Swann in the Disney swashbuckling series.

Following the success of the first film, Knightley returned for two more movies, before cameoing in the final Pirates film to date, 2017's Salazar's Revenge.

The franchise grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide, and went on to become the 16th highest-grossing film franchise ever.

Pretty decent credentials, if you ask me.

Knightley - now 39 - has now said that the role was 'making and breaking' her 'at the same time'.

The first movie was released in 2003 (Walt Disney)

She recently told The Times: "I was seen as s**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."

In the years closely appearing in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, the British actress went on to bag a leading role in Jane Austen's 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, for which she was nominated for a Best Actress award at the Oscars.

Less than a decade later, she earned another Academy Award nomination for her supporting role as Joan Clarke in World War II drama The Imitation Game, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch's Alan Turing.

Despite having played a colossal mix of roles ever since, she looks back at her first 'big break' with mix feelings.

"[The Pirates of the Caribbean movies] were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of, and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly," she told the publication.

"So they’re a very confused place in my head."

So much so, that she has since vowed never to agree to a role in a major franchise ever again.

The actress recently reflected on her time as part of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

"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," the mother-of-two - who shares two daughters with Klaxons musician husband James Righton - explained.

The pressure of taking on such high-profile roles at such a young age took its tole on Knightle, and in 2018, she revealed that she'd been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder aged just 22.

Reflecting on her mental health woes, she has since admitted it's hard to remember the trauma in all its gory detail.

"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?" she explained.

"It’s obviously part of my psyche, given how young I was when it happened. I’ve been made around it.”