Keira Knightley has revealed that she felt ‘stalked by men’ and faced ‘rape speak’ as a teenager after starring in Pirates Of The Caribbean.
The Oscar nominee, now 39, characterised Hollywood culture in the 2000s as ‘a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere’ in which she was blamed for the aggressive and intrusive interest men took in her.
Ms Knightley was propelled to fame with roles in the first of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series and Love Actually aged 17.
But the British star has acknowledged that her extraordinary success came at a ‘big cost’ and that it was ‘very brutal to have your privacy taken away in your teenage years, early 20s’.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times about the male attention she received in her first years of stardom, she said: ‘My jaw dropped at the time. I didn’t think it was OK. I was very clear on it being absolutely shocking.
‘There was an amount of gaslighting to be told by a load of men that ‘You wanted this.’ It was rape speak. You know, ‘This is what you deserve.’ It was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere.’
She added: ‘They very specifically meant I wanted to be stalked by men. Whether that was stalking because somebody was mentally ill, or because people were earning money from it – it felt the same to me. It was a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye.’
Ms Knightley also commented on the ‘slightly stalkerish aspect’ of her storyline in the 2003 Christmas favourite Love Actually, where Andrew Lincoln’s character shows up at her doorstep with cue cards to profess his love.
The Oscar nominee, now 39, characterised Hollywood culture in the 2000s as ‘a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere’
Ms Knightley was propelled to fame with roles in the first of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series and Love Actually aged 17
Ms Knightley has not appeared in a live-action TV role for over two decades, but is now starring in Netflix’s British spy thriller series, Black Doves
She explained that, while filming the scene, director Richard Curtis told her that she was looking at Lincoln ‘like he’s creepy’ and recalled how she had to ‘redo it to fix my face to make him seem not creepy’.
She added: ‘I mean, there was a creep factor at the time, right? Also, I knew I was 17. It only seems like a few years ago that everybody else realised I was 17.’
Ms Knightley has not appeared in a live-action TV role for over two decades, but is now starring in Netflix’s British spy thriller series, Black Doves, alongside Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire and Paddington’s Ben Whishaw.
Speaking of the new role, she said: ‘My teenage self is thrilled with this. Sometimes you have to listen to your teenage self and go, ‘This one’s for you.’ I think she would have found this very cool.’
