Keira Knightley needs to have a “really nice time” after filming dark roles. The Dangerous Method actress doesn’t find acting particularly theraputic, and admits she needs to properly relax at the end of a day’s work in order to stop her roles making her upset. She said: “A lot of people say that acting is like therapy, but I don’t go for that. “It’s not my cup of tea, it is for some people, but not me. I do, however, find it incredibly cathartic and when you’re playing something so dark you want to have a really nice time afterwards, otherwise it’s far too depressing.” The 26-year-old actress – who is in a relationship with Klaxons rocker James Righton – also admitted that her fame has changed her, but she thinks it would be “sad” if she remained the person she was at the beginning of her career. She added in an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper: “Yes, I was different then to the way I am now because you change with your experiences. It would be sad if you didn’t, but my level of fame is not as big as Brad Pitt’s thankfully.”

Source: Contactmusic

Keira Knightley was left a nervous wreck on the set of new movie A Dangerous Method when she plastered her trailer with grotesque and disturbing images of humans in turmoil. The British actress plays mental patient-turned-psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein in the upcoming drama, and she put herself through extreme preparations for the role. She decided to surround herself with pictures of distorted and screaming humans from the work of famed artist Francis Bacon – and admits it was a deliberate move to unnerve herself as she’s been terrified of Bacon’s images since she was a child. Knightley tells Culture magazine, “Honestly, it was terrifying. I covered my entire trailer on set with these pictures, which were so animalistic, almost demonic, especially the studies for the Crucifixion. “My mum took me to an exhibition of his work when I was really little and I just remember how claustrophobic and completely terrified I was. I hated it. And now I’m scarred for ever.” But the Pirates of the Caribbean star is adamant being surrounded by Bacon’s most disturbing images helped her perfect her role, adding, “(It worked) because for me the work depicts madness. And I always think of Francis Bacon when I think about someone who is in that sort of place.”

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Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender downed vodka shots before shooting scenes for A Dangerous Method. The pair star as Sabina Spielrein and her therapist Carl Jung in the David Cronenberg movie and Keira, 26, admitted they got through the more uncomfortable scenes – which include Michael spanking her – by turning to alcohol. Keira told Culture magazine: “We only had one or two shots maximum. It was a vodka shot to calm our nerves and away you go really. Then we had champagne. We drank quite a lot of champagne actually. You can count on Michael to buy a bottle of champagne when one is required. The vodka and champagne is a good combination.” Keira also revealed she now only chooses roles that challenge her and she loves to be frightened by her movies. She added: “I think all the work I have done over the past five years has looked for the thing that really frightens me – the thing that I really don’t know how to do. I think it is for selfish reasons. If you manage to do something that is a big challenge, you get a hell of a lot out of it, regardless of whether the end product works or not.”

Source: Contactmusic

Keira Knightley signed up to star in a comedy with Steve Carrell because she needed a break from all her “dark” film roles. The British actress has taken on a series of dramatic parts since her breakthrough in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and she wanted to show off her playful side with a bit of light relief. However, Knightley admits the project, entitled Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, still has an edgy twist. She tells Hit Fix, “I did do a comedy over the summer, because I thought, ‘Jesus, this is just going from dark to darker to darkest, I need to lighten up a bit.’ “I told a friend, ‘Don’t worry, it’s much lighter,’ and then when she asked me what it’s about, I had to say, well, the end of the world! Maybe the apocalypse is as light as I can go right now.” Knightley insists she would like to take on more comedy projects, if only she could find the right scripts. She adds, “If I could find a rom-com project with a character as complicated in her own way as the women in the films I’ve been doing recently, I’d gladly go for it.”

Source: Contactmusic

Keira Knightley has revealed that she was terrified during a school visit to prepare for her latest play “The Children’s Hour”. Knightley visited Brentwood School in Essex alongside co-star Elizabeth Moss, the “Mad Men” actress who recently described Knightley as “hot and very talented”. To prepare for the boarding school setting of “The Children’s Hour”, Knightley and Moss were put in charge of a class of ten drama students. Knightley said that the experience was “terrifying” but the pupils were “brilliant”, reports the Evening Standard. Describing the students, Knightley said: “They were so kind. I got them to do a scene from the play – basically I did a drama class. It left me with a great respect for teachers. It gives you an insight into how tired you are after just an hour.” The pupils at the all girls’ school were impressed with Knightley too, with one saying: “We were not allowed to take photos of her or ask for autographs. Not everyone obeyed the rules but she remained lovely and polite throughout the day.” Headteacher Ian Davies said that the pair inspired the pupils, adding: “It was a wonderful opportunity for our girls to work with such fantastic actresses.”

Source: Digital Spy

Keira Knightley prefers “masculine” perfumes. The “Atonement” actress is the face of Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle perfume and admitted before she tried it she only wore men’s fragrances because she hates sweet scents. She explained: “Before Coco Mademoiselle I wore men’s fragrances. I didn’t want something light and flowery – I’m not that kind of girl. “It’s the first perfume I tried and thought, ‘Yes, that fits.’ It’s the mixture of strength and subtlety. It doesn’t overpower but it makes you feel you can stand up straight and that’s important to me. “One of the things I love about it is that although it’s extremely feminine, it gives me this feeling of power.” Keira also revealed she loved the beige catsuit she wears in the new commercial for the brand, which is directed by Joe Wright admitting it made her feel like “superwoman”. She told The Daily Record newspaper: “All I knew before I saw it was that it was a beige catsuit. I didn’t have any details. I discovered it in Karl Lagerfeld’s offices once it was done and when I put it on, I immediately felt like I was slipping into a second skin. I felt like superwoman.”

Source: Contactmusic

Keira Knightley is becoming “more beautiful” with age. The 25-year-old actress has recently worked with her “Atonement” director and frequent collaborator, Joe Wright on a commercial for Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle fragrance and Joe – who first met Keira when she was 18 – thinks she is getting even more beautiful as she gets older. He said: “On a purely superficial level, she just gets more beautiful, which is very fair on the rest of us as we all get to admire her. “Plus her sexuality has developed – she’s no longer quite as innocent as she was. She was always bold but she’s a lot more secure in herself now.” Although Joe thinks Keira is stunning, he admitted what is most exciting about her is how she has “taken control” of her image and style. He explained to Style magazine: “It’s like being asked why you love your wife and it’s rather bland to say she’s talented and beautiful and bold because it’s such a subjective thing. “I guess what I’m excited about is watching her develop. She’s her own woman with her own sense of purpose and her own mysteries. She’s not here to conform to a male fantasy. “I think Keira has taken control of her own image. What we tried to do [with the latest commercial] is turn it around so that it begins as a story about the male gaze, but becomes about the female gaze. The idea is the artifice of projected female sexuality.”

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Keira Knightley decided to reduce her movie workload because she was suffering from “exhaustion”. The “Never Let Me Go” actress – who in the past has admitted she can see herself moving away from acting altogether – made the decision she needed a year off from lead roles after she was left drained after playing Georgiana Cavendish in 2008′s “The Duchess”. She explained: “After I did “The Duchess” I was absolutely exhausted and I just went, ‘OK, I need to stop’. So I took a year off and I’ve been playing a lot of supporting roles recently. “I haven’t taken a lead, and I think that’s partly because of that need to find a balance.” However, the 25-year-old star accepts she is “incredibly privileged” to be able to pick and choose when she works. Keira added: “I’m in an incredibly privileged position where I can choose my work. I suppose I’m looking to be stimulated in things that I can put myself into which teach me something about myself and the world.”

Source: Contactmusic

Keira Knightley had to get permission from her mother to buy her most expensive item of clothing. The millionaire actress owns a sheepskin coat from fashion house Burberry, which cost £2,795, but she could only go through with the purchase after being given the go-ahead by her mum Sharman MacDonald – who told her she had to wear the garment every day. She told Britain’s Elle magazine: “My mum was like, ‘You cannot spend that amount of money on a coat,’ and I was like, ‘No, you’re right I can’t, I can’t’. And then literally it was months and months of thinking about it and thinking, ‘I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it.’ “But then she said, ‘Right, if you’re going to buy it, you have to wear it all the time.’ “I wore it every day last year and I’m going to wear it every day this year”. Keira has long been careful with her finances, and in 2009 she revealed the global recession had made her stop buying expensive designer shoes and start renting them instead. Keira, now 25, explained: “I think when I was very young and I suddenly started earning a bit of money and I could actually afford to buy shoes, I got very excited and bought a lot. I mean a lot! “I haven’t bought any in quite a while. Now I just rent them for the day. They give them to me for the day and I give them back in the evening, which is good.”

Source: Contactmusic