Keira Knightley's star was already on the rise in the UK when she was cast in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, but the Disney movie based on the iconic theme park ride put the then-17-year-old on the map at a global level.
She'd later return as Elizabeth Swann in two sequels, 2006's Dead Man's Chest and 2007's At World's End. However, the way tabloid press zeroed in on her - specifically regarding what they believed must be an eating disorder due to her slender frame - sullied the entire experience for Knightley.
"In that classic trauma way I don’t remember it," the actor replied when The Times (via SFFGazette.com) wondered how she looks back at the time spent shooting those movies. "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."
Noting that she was "unbelievably lucky" to have "an incredibly loving" support system of family and friends at the time, Knightley recalled the way she was bombarded by questions about weight during interviews for the action franchise.
"I remember viscerally one of the Olsen twins had anorexia, and she went into a clinic," she recalled. "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."
Despite eventually moving on from Pirates of the Caribbean to tackle more serious fare (Pride and Prejudice earned Knightley a Best Actress nomination), Knightley now looks back at what the Disney franchise did for her career with mixed feelings.
"It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time. I was seen as shit 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," she explained. "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."
Asked whether she'd consider taking on more franchise roles (Marvel or DC, for example), it seems that's something Knightley has fully closed the door on. Like many actors, the experience of shooting blockbusters isn't one she particularly enjoyed.
"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."
There continue to be rumblings about a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot at Disney, though none of the versions we've heard about in recent years appear any closer to actually happening as we write this.
Knightley will next be seen in Netflix's Black Doves.