2 April 2014
Did back-to-back shoots of “Pirates of the Caribbean” lead Keira Knightley to want out of the acting world?
The actress has revealed that she was so tired of the Hollywood game back in 2007 that she was ready to quit at the ripe old age of 22. “I think I intended not to work again,” the British star revealed.
Knightley loves the Caribbean, but her intense work schedule never allowed her to truly enjoy all that it has to offer. Knightley reportedly came to the decision following a trip around Europe and a brief sabbatical from Hollywood. She didn’t single out a particular incident or shoot that sent her packing but, rather, a general dissatisfaction with the profession. “I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing and I felt terribly guilty about that,” she revealed.
Counting backwards, this would put her hiatus around the release of “Pirates of the Caribbean 3” in 2007. At that time she had wrapped back-to-back shoots of the second and third films in the Disney sequel, in which she played Elizabeth Swann, an upper-crust governor’s daughter who becomes a pirate. The actress, just married, is refreshed from her time off, though she said she’s still occasionally plagued by the same issues that almost forced her out of Hollywood. Knightley says should fans meet her on the street, they might find her less than receptive. It’s not because Hollywood has made her a jerk.
It’s just a little nerve-rattling being so famous. “I’m still not good at being recognized,” she told the Telegraph. “I wear scruffy clothes and hats and keep my head well down… I’m sure people must think I’m a complete b----, but I’m just very shy.” Knightley is the second British starlet to announce that she has considered premature retirement. Emma Watson was planning to quit acting after she wrapped the last “Harry Potter” film.
