Keira Knightley is one of the most successful and famous English actresses. Forbes listed her as the second highest-paid actress in 2008, with annual earnings of $32 million. Knightley’s charm, accent, and stellar performances have long endeared her to the hearts of audiences and critics.
A two-time Academy Awards nominee, Keira Knightley has starred in several box-office hits throughout her career. As such, she has worked with some of the best directors, producers, and top actors. Although the actress loves living in London, she continues to contribute her talents to Hollywood. These are Keira Knightley’s top 10 performances in film.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
George Lucas‘ epic space opera film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) was Keira Knightley’s second feature film, having made her debut in 1995 with Innocent Lies. Knightley played Sabé, one of Queen Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) handmaidens. Throughout the film, Knightley’s character serves as a decoy for Queen Amidala. Interestingly, Knightley and Portman looked so alike while wearing their costumes for their characters; Knightley’s real-life mother, Sharman Macdonald, couldn’t tell them apart when she visited Knightley during filming. Although Knightley wasn’t cast in a lead role, it was a great place to begin her young career. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace grossed $1.027 billion on a $115 million budget.
Pirates of the Caribbean Films
The Pirates of the Caribbean film series was Keira Knightley’s most popular film worldwide. She received international recognition for playing the character of Elizabeth Swann. She joined the franchise from its first film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Knightley reprised the role in the third installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), and made a cameo appearance as Elizabeth Swann-Turner in the fifth installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Collectively, the three installments she appeared in grossed over $2.4 billion at the Box Office.
King Arthur (2004)
The Antoine Fuqua-directed historical adventure film King Arthur (2004) chose to depict King Arthur as a Roman officer rather than the medieval knight he’s been famously known. Keira Knightley is cast as the iconic character, Guinevere. She’s introduced as one of the two surviving prisoners in the Roman patriarch Marius Honorius’ (Ken Stott) cell complex. After freeing them, Guinevere joins Arthur and his band of knights, Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Bors (Ray Winstone), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson) to escape the city. Arthur and Guinevere become romantically involved and later marry. After defeating the Saxons in the Battle of Badon Hill, Merlin proclaims Arthur as King of the Britons. Despite its mostly negative reviews from critics, it grossed $203.6 million on a $120 million production budget.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Keira Knightley played the lead role as Pride & Prejudice (2005) main protagonist, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bennet. The film was adapted from Jane Austen‘s 1813 novel. Lizzy was the second of five daughters in the Bennet family. Knightley co-starred with fellow English actor Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy), who was a relatively lesser-known actor at the time. Knightley’s performance brought the actress her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She also received a similar nomination, Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, at the Golden Globe Awards. Pride & Prejudice (2005) was produced with a budget of $28 million but successfully grossed $121.6 million at the Box Office.
Atonement (2007)
Atonement (2007) is Joe Wright‘s second directed feature film after Pride & Prejudice (2005). The romantic war drama was set in a period that spanned six decades. Keira Knightley was cast as the older of the Tallis sisters, Cecilia Tallis. She’s cast as the co-lead alongside James McAvoy, who played Robbie Turner. Atonement also starred Saoirse Ronan and Benedict Cumberbatch. Knightley was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the British Academy Film Awards and Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globe Awards.
Anna Karenina (2012)
Keira Knightley is cast as the titular character, Anna Karenina. The actress works again with director Joe Wright in the historical romantic drama Anna Karenina (2012). The film follows the life of Anna, a Russian aristocrat and socialite. She’s also the wife of senior statesman Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (Jude Law), who begins an adulterous relationship with a cavalry officer, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Although Knightley didn’t get a major award nomination for her performance, the movie received four nominations at the 85th Academy Awards.
The Imitation Game (2014)
Director Morten Tyldum‘s period biographical thriller The Imitation Game (2014) was based on Andrew Hodges‘ 1983 biography, Alan Turing: The Enigma. It starred Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as Alan Turing and Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke. The Imitation Game was a Box Office juggernaut, raking in $233.6 million on a production budget of $14 million. Knightley’s performance also didn’t go without recognition. She received her second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Knightley also received her third Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and two SAG Awards nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role.
Misbehaviour (2020)
Misbehaviour (2020) is a British comedy-drama with an interesting, star-studded cast. Its top cast includes a list of British, English, Scottish, Irish, and American actors. Keira Knightley is cast as English historian and feminist activist, Sally Alexander. Set in 1970, Misbehaviour follows the events of the 1970 Miss World competition. Other notable cast members include Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lesley Manville, Rhys Ifans, and Greg Kinnear.
Charlotte (2021)
In her only released feature film in 2021, Keira Knightley voiced the titular character in the animated biographical drama, Charlotte. Knightley’s character is German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon. She’s known for painting the autobiographical series Leben? oder Theater?: Ein Singspiel (Life? or Theater?: A Song-play). The series is famous for being the largest artwork done by a Jewish person who died in the Holocaust. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2021 before it was released in Canada and France in April 2022 and November 2022, respectively.
Boston Strangler (2023)
Known for her love for starring in period films, Keira Knightley returned in 2023, portraying American journalist, author, and newspaper editor, Loretta McLaughlin, in Boston Strangler. The film is based on the events of the actual 1960s Boston Strangler, who killed 13 women. Knightley’s character was the reporter who first broke the news for the Boston Record American newspaper. Boston Strangler was released on the subscription streaming service Hulu on March 17, 2023. Keira Knightley co-starred alongside Bill Camp, Carrie Coon, and David Dastmalchian.
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