It’s been 20 years since Keira Knightley donned her bonnet as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Based on Jane Austen’s famous 1813 novel, and starring Matthew Macfadyen, Carey Mulligan, Rosamund Pike and Simon Woods, the film quickly became a cult classic – one that is still beloved today.

It came at a time of heightened fame for Knightley, who had also acted in hit films like Love Actually, Bend it like Beckham and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Despite commercial success, her reputation was still on shaky ground. As a victim of the misogynistic noughties’ tabloid press and someone who was often mocked for her crisp RP accent and slight underbite, Knightley recently admitted that her turn in Pirates of the Caribbean did her no favours.

Discussing the anniversary of Pride & Prejudice with Rosamund Pike for Vanity Fair, Knightley said of that period, ‘I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress.’

‘But I had this phenomenally big success with Pirates,’ she continued. ‘And I think [Pride & Prejudice] was the first one that was a phenomenally big success but was also critically acclaimed. So I remember it coming out maybe the same year, maybe around the same time as Pirates 2. And 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.’

Knightley was indeed nominated in the Best Actress category for her role as Elizabeth Benet but ultimately lost out to Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line. It made the her the third youngest nominee in Oscars history, which must have felt surreal given that it was the first time she had received any sort of critical acclaim in her career.

Even fan favourites like Bend it like Beckham, which retain a fond place in pop culture, earned the Black Doves star poor reviews at the time. ‘Of course, it’s only the ones that are negative [that you remember]. So I think [Pride & Prejudice] was the first time it had been unequivocally positive, right?’

It’s not the first time Knightley has reflected on this paradox. Speaking about the Pirates of the Caribbean films last year she told The Times, ‘I was seen as shit because of them, and yet because they did so well, I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for.’

‘They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head,’ she added.

However, her confusion also opens the debate about how flawed these metrics of success are to begin with. At either end of the spectrum – commercial box office success versus the Academy Awards – there is a strong case for readjusting their emphasis and value anyway. Both metrics are fleeting and dependent on countless variables, i.e. how well the films were marketed, what other films were released in cinemas that week or nominated for awards that year.

What the anniversary of Pride & Prejudice teaches us instead is that a film is best measured by its impact and longevity – both cultural and personal – rather than how much money it made or the awards it was up for 20 years ago.

Jane Austen was nowhere near as revered – commercially or culturally – during her lifetime as she has been since. Even so, her books and their never-ending adaptations continue to be cherished by millions of people around the world. Knightley’s 2005 version is undoubtedly one of the most popular and is currently enjoying a gen-z renaissance on TikTok and Instagram. However, the journalist Dolly Alderton recently announced that she is also adapting the book into a six-part series for Netflix, starring Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden and Olivia Coleman. It will likely arrive on the platform next year.

‘Once in a generation, a group of people get to retell this wonderful story and I feel very lucky that I get to be a part of it,’ Alderton told Netflix. ‘Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is a blueprint for romantic comedy – it has been a joy to delve back into its pages to find both familiar and fresh ways of bringing this beloved book to life. The book is a gift to adapt – packed with drama and depth as well as comedy and charm.’

‘In it lies the opportunity to examine the complexities of love, family, friendship and society, while aspiring to Austen’s delightfully observational voice. With Euros Lyn directing our stellar cast, I am so excited to reintroduce these hilarious and complicated characters to those who count Pride & Prejudice as their favourite book, and those who are yet to meet their Lizzie and Mr Darcy.’

Far fewer people remember that Knightley was nominated for an Oscar or that she was mocked for starring in Pirates of the Caribbean than those who remember, and still love and enjoy, the countless films she’s starred in throughout her career. If you ask us, that doesn’t make her a ‘terrible actress’ by any metric.