Keira Knightley’s Acting Criticized by Her ‘Begin Again’ Director John Carney
John Carney, who recently expanded his narrative horizons with the musical dramedy “Sing Street,” has some unkind words for a former collaborator: “I learned that I’ll never make a film with supermodels again,” the writer/director said to The Independent about Keira Knightley, who starred in his musical dramedy “Begin Again.” “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,” continued the filmmaker. “I don’t want to rubbish Keira, but you know 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.” Knightley — whose best-known performances include her roles in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement” — has been nominated for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, two BAFTAs and two SAG awards.
READ MORE: Keira Knightley on Faking Her Way Through ‘The Imitation Game’ and Getting Loose for ‘Laggies’
Carney, who first came to international attention for his musical dramedy “Once,” appears to be on a different page than David Cronenberg, who directed Knightley in “A Dangerous Method.” In an interview with Film Comment, Cronenberg called the actress “fantastic. She needed very few takes. We were all just awestruck…She would do these amazing things, which leads me to say that she’s among the best actresses I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve worked with the best.”
For more, watch the “Imitation Game” trailer:
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