Keira Knightley Thought ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Was Going to Be ‘a Terrible Mistake’
Before she became the star she is today, Keira Knightley was a burgeoning young actor on the set of Love Actually. At the time, she was relatively unknown, especially compared to co-stars like Hugh Grant. But Knightley was poised to breakout with her appearances in the Christmas rom-com and another big-budget project. However, she wasn’t convinced Pirates of the Caribbean was a good idea.
Keira Knightley wasn’t sure about ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’
Before her role as Juliet Kane in Love Actually, Knightley had appeared in other projects. But fame struck with 2002’s comedy Bend It Like Beckham. The star landed her in Pirates of the Caribbean while still working on Love Actually, and according to the director Richard Curtis, she wasn’t sure about it.
Speaking to The Daily Beast in 2013, Curtis said he asked Knightley what she would be doing after Love Actually wrapped up. “With Keira, it was only her second film and I remember talking to her while we were shooting and asking her what she was doing next and she said, ‘Oh it’s going to be terrible and I’ve probably made a terrible mistake but I’m doing this pirates movie.'”
Curtis said that while Knightley wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about what would eventually launch her into stardom, she was looking forward to “a few fun months in the sun,”
Keira Knightley became an overnight star thanks to the ‘Pirates’ movies
Knightley didn’t know that fighting otherworldly creatures as a pirate would help her make a name for herself in the cutthroat industry. The actor landed the role of Elizabeth Swann for the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
The film’s producers said they cast Knightley because she possessed an “indescribable quality reminiscent of motion picture stars from Hollywood’s heyday.” Although The Curse of the Black Pearl had a star-studded cast, including industry veterans Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, and a huge budget of $135 million, it was expected to fail.
However, it opened at No. 1 at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing releases that year. The movie earned an impressive $654 million at the box office and catapulted Knightley into worldwide renown. The film’s success resulted in a sequel three years later, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which saw Knightley reprise her role.
Dead Man’s Chest was incredibly successful, earning over $1 billion at the box office against a $225 million budget. Knightley returned for the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, after which she decided to leave the franchise to pursue other ventures.
The third film was also successful, earning just under a billion dollars grossing $960.9 million on a $300 million budget. Knightly made a brief cameo at the end of Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017 but has largely not been involved with the franchise.
What has Keira Knightley been up to since ‘Pirates’?
In 2005, after filming the first Pirates movie, Knightley landed another one of her most prominent roles — in the Jane Austen-based period drama Pride & Prejudice, playing Elizabeth Bennet. The role earned her an Academy Award nod for Best Actress. She went on to appear in several other period pieces, including The Duchess and Atonement.
In 2014, she starred in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and The Imitation Game. In 2018, Knightley played the real-life writer Colette in the eponymous movie. She has since appeared in Misbehavior, Silent Night, and lent her voice to Charlotte. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Knightley’s efforts have helped her amass a net worth of $80 million.
