Supermodel Knightley’s no actor, director complains
SHE has been nominated for two Oscars and won legions of fans, so Keira Knightley must have been surprised to see her acting abilities publicly criticised by one of her directors.
John Carney, the Irish director and writer of musical comedy-drama Begin
Again, has been quoted as calling Knightley, one of Britain’s biggest stars, a mere “supermodel”.
He also reportedly claimed she had an “entourage” and said he had become “disenchanted” working with her. “I don’t want to rubbish Keira,” the director said in a recent interview, before going on to do just that.
He said: “It’s hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don’t think she’s ready for yet and I certainly don’t think she was ready for on that film.
“Keira’s thing is to hide who you are and I don’t think you can be an actor and do that. It’s not like I hate the Hollywood thing, but I like to work with curious, proper film actors as opposed to movie stars.” Asked if he had learned anything from the experience, he added: “I learned I’ll never make a film with supermodels again.”
Carney’s comments, in an interview with The Independent, were all the more remarkable as disagreements between actors and directors in Hollywood are usually kept private. Knightley, 31, has been lavishly praised by other directors she has worked with.
Begin Again was filmed in 2012 and released two years later. Knightley starred as a singer-songwriter who is discovered in New York. Carney said: “I think the real problem was that Keira wasn’t a singer and wasn’t a guitar player and it’s very hard to make music seem real if it’s not with musicians.” The film was made for $8 million (£5 million) and grossed $63 million at the box office, receiving positive reviews.
Knightley was nominated for Academy Awards for Pride & Prejudice in 2006 and The Imitation Game in 2015.
Her representatives did not respond to a request to comment.