How playing Elizabeth Bennet changed Keira

Actor thought she was terrible before ‘P&P’ role

As Pride & Prejudice marks its 20th anniversary this year, Keira Knightley is revisiting the film that she says redefined how she was viewed in Hollywood. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the British actor opened up about her career trajectory before and after the 2005 Jane Austen adaptation, which earned her an Academy Award nomination at just 20 years old.

Knightley, who had already achieved global recognition for her roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Bend It Like Beckham, said she felt dismissed by critics early in her career despite commercial success.

“Pirates of the Caribbean had already come out, but I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress,” Knightley admitted. “But I had this phenomenally big success with Pirates. And I think Pride & Prejudice was the first one that was a phenomenally big success, but was also critically acclaimed.”

Knightley said the response to Pride & Prejudice stood in stark contrast to the reception of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which was released around the same time. “I got the worst reviews ever for that, and then also being nominated for an Oscar at the same time — it was, in my 21-year-old head, quite confusing.”

Reflecting on her earlier breakout role in Bend It Like Beckham, which was released when she was just 17, Knightley revealed that the reviews she remembers most were the negative ones. “All those voices of self-doubt are so loud when you are in your teens or 20s,” she said. “But in an adult brain that’s got a lot of experience, you can kind of go, ‘You know what? It’s okay. Today may not be my day, but tomorrow it might be better.'”

The actor has previously described 2005 as a year of extremes. Speaking to The Times, she called it a “making and breaking” moment in her career. “They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly,” she said. “So they’re a very confused place in my head.”

Knightley’s candid reflections arrive as Pride & Prejudice enjoys renewed attention two decades on, with fans and critics alike continuing to celebrate its portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet – a role that, for Knightley, was as redemptive as it was career-defining.