Knightley Admits To Bad Acting
Keira Knightley is one of the most intriguing actresses working right now. Not for her outstanding natural ability, but for the fact that she has gotten so far without ever having delivered an electric performance. Despite being Oscar nominated, I just can’t see why Hollywood keeps casting her as a leading lady. Though she’s a stunning lady and not as vacuous or wooden as her Pirates co-star and fellow unfathomable A-lister Orlando Bloom, she just doesn’t seem to display that ‘it’ factor, that spark the likes of Rachel McAdams and Emily Blunt have in spades.
From the Radio Times via The Guardian, Knightley has admitted that critics of her acting, particularly her breakout performance in Bend It Like Beckham, were right:
“I completely agreed on every level,” said Knightley. “I didn’t go to drama school, so I didn’t get the training. It was difficult to get over that: ‘What am I doing? I’m pretending that I can do this and everybody’s telling me I can’t.’”
I’ve got a lot of respect for Knightley for coming out and saying this. Not many actors would admit their own weaknesses, let alone do it to the media. I think when Knightley mentions “pretending” she hits the nail on the head. Every time I see her on film it is always obvious to me she is faking it, her performances aren’t natural and she struggles to lose herself in her roles. Perhaps it’ll take a while for Knightley to really hit a decent run of form. As she gets older the parts she’s being offered now will dry up and she’ll be forced to go with supporting roles that offer more of a challenge.
12 Comments
I don’t want to come across as nasty, but Knightley is a terrible actor. Totally unnatural, terribly wooden and limited in terms of range. She’s painful to watch and – though I’m not a mindless macho “phwoar! You beauty” type of punter who goes to the pictures because they’ll be some women to ogle at – she’s not even attractive.
Sorry Keira, but credit to her for coming out and acknowleding some of your foibles. She’s awful, but at least she doesn’t have an untamed ego.
And hey, maybe as she goes on she will get stronger roles and develop in terms of talent. Just look at what Leonardo Di Caprio has achieved in ten years! I look forward to the day when I can say: “Keira Knightley. what a solid and capable actress she is.”
Honestly, I thought she was good in The Hole, but since then she’s been so awkward on screen. If anything she’s lost something since The Hole and Bend It Like Beckham. She and (especially) Bloom are awful in Pirates and she was so miscast in Domino.
I read the interview and give a full credit for admiting her shortcomings. However what is not mentioned here is that she is an untrained actor and has had to learn on the job. She is not a patch on Emily Blunt I agree with that.
Wow! Keria Knightly, a bad actress? I’m shocked, simply shocked, I tell you.
It says a lot when an actress is so bad that even she knows she sucks @ss. I remember a while back when the idea of a Primcess Diana biopic was being tossed around. Matt said he didn’t have a problem with the idea of Knightly playing Diana. I hope after this we can all agree this girl’s got no talent. And while it would be great if she did invest in some acting lessons, does anyone really think it will help her? I think not.
She is not improving, she shows no signs of figuring out how to even play the empty-ingenues she perpetually portrays. The sooner she stops pretending to be an actress and just becomes a model full-time the better. Kate Winslet must rip her hair out every time she sees Knightly. Were it not for Keira Kate would be a much bigger star.
Rachel McAdams has the ‘it’ factor? News to me.
STOP THE KEIRA BASHING. lol.
I’ll admit, she’s like Johansson. If a role doesn’t suit her… she sticks out like a sore thumb. She’s no Emily Blunt, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslet.. who can do everything.
She just needs to be cast right. Joe Wright always gives her the right role. Pride and Prejudice was an outstanding OSCAR NOMINATED performance. A great achievment for someone her age. Her appearance in Love Actually was well cast and she was actually really good in the first Pirates movie.
Her upcoming roles will show the world what she can do. The now titled The Edge of Love (i think it’s change it’s name 3 times and of course lost Lindsay Lohan in the process) will show her chops as will Atonement which I’m seeing next week actually.
She’s here to stay guys and I really think she would do a good job as Diana in a couple of years time. She is the Diana of our time, just not part of the Royal Family.
She’s quite a terrible actress yes. Like you say she lacks the ability to come across natural.
I agree with her. If looking vapid and jutting your jaw is dramatic acting my newborn is a natural. And I’d rather see her star opposite Ralph Fiennes. I practically screamed out-loud in the theater when I found out she was “The Duchess.”
All the credit to Keira for saying she thinks she not a great actor, but personaly I think she’s ok. I love the POTC movies and think she played her parted as Elizabeth quite well. So stop bashing her you guys! How would you like it if you were trying to ‘develop’ as an actor or actress and you read the stuff you’re writing about her? I know for sure it wouldn’t make me feel very good! For example look at what James wrote about her! ‘Knightley is a terrible actor. Totally unnatural, terribly wooden and limited in terms of range. She’s painful to watch and she’s not even attractive’ I don’t agree at all! Speaking from a girls point of veiw I think she’s young and beutiful, I wouldn’t mind looking like her one bit! She is NOT painful to watch, NOT wooden at all, and I’ve seen much worse attemps at ‘trying to look natural’! She is NOT a teribble actor (as you people say), I enjoy watching movies she stars in very much. You shouldn’t judge people so harsly! Everyone makes mistakes including you and me!
Keira Knightley is an “actress” with just one schtick going for her. That upper high-brow English brogue she puts on for a number of period films (as well as Bend it Like Beckham) does not make her out to be quite as versatile as your average Hollywood A-lister. There are many Oscar nominated and Oscar winning actor/esses that have taken the plunge and gone on to do numerous roles that are all quite different from each other, but Keira Knightley (barring Domino and The Jacket where she pulled off a heinous attempt at an “American” accent and had quite small voice parts) has not done so. She is one-note and luckily for us all, there are enough fan girls out there who will root for her despite her lack of any specific adaptability or diversity in choosing challenging jobs. I would like her to try to at the least act without puckering her lips and saying dialogue in whispy breaths. Only then will she come across as a legitimate actress with any skill to her name.
I cried when she was in Pride and Prejusice. To say she is bad is old news.