The actress was bashed by critics and nominated for an Oscar in the same year.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]
Words by Nikki Peach<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/imago806192474-scaled.jpg” alt=”Jennifer Aniston” title_text=”PFW Le Grand Diner du Louvre Arrivals Photocall” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] It\u2019s been 20 years since Keira Knightley donned her bonnet as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright\u2019s adaptation of Pride & Prejudice<\/em>. Based on Jane Austen\u2019s famous 1813 novel, and starring Matthew Macfadyen, Carey Mulligan, Rosamund Pike and Simon Woods, the film quickly became a cult classic \u2013 one that is still beloved today.<\/p>\n It came at a time of heightened fame for Knightley, who had also acted in hit films like Love Actually, Bend it like Beckham<\/em> and the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> franchise. Despite commercial success, her reputation was still on shaky ground. As a victim of the misogynistic noughties\u2019 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<\/em> did her no favours. <\/p>\n Discussing the anniversary of Pride & Prejudice<\/em> with Rosamund Pike for Vanity Fair<\/em>, Knightley said of that period, \u2018I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u2018But I had this phenomenally big success with Pirates<\/em>,\u2019 she continued. \u2018And I think [Pride & Prejudice<\/em>] 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<\/em>. And I got the worst reviews ever for that, and then also being nominated for an Oscar at the same time\u00a0\u2013 it was, in my 21-year-old head, quite confusing.\u2019<\/p>\n 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<\/em>. It made the her\u00a0the 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.<\/p>\n Even fan favourites like Bend it like Beckham<\/em>, which retain a fond place in pop culture, earned the Black Doves<\/em> star poor reviews at the time. \u2018Of course, it\u2019s only the ones that are negative [that you remember]. So I think [Pride & Prejudice<\/em>] was the first time it had been unequivocally positive, right?\u2019<\/p>\n It’s not the first time Knightley has reflected on this paradox. Speaking about the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> films last year she told The Times<\/em>, \u2018I 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.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018They were the most successful films I\u2019ll ever be a part of and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they\u2019re a very confused place in my head,\u2019 she added.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] However, her confusion also opens the debate about how flawed these metrics of success are to begin with. At either end of the spectrum \u2013 commercial box office success versus the Academy Awards \u2013 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. <\/p>\n What the anniversary of Pride & Prejudice<\/em> teaches us instead is that a film is best measured by its impact and longevity \u2013 both cultural and personal \u2013\u00a0rather than how much money it made or the awards it was up for 20 years ago.<\/p>\n Jane Austen was nowhere near as revered \u2013 commercially or culturally \u2013 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u2018Once 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,\u2019 Alderton told Netflix. \u2018Jane Austen\u2019s Pride & Prejudice<\/em> is a blueprint for romantic comedy \u2013 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 \u2013 packed with drama and depth as well as comedy and charm.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018In it lies the opportunity to examine the complexities of love, family, friendship and society, while aspiring to Austen\u2019s 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<\/em> as their favourite book, and those who are yet to meet their Lizzie and Mr Darcy.\u2019<\/p>\n Far fewer people remember that Knightley was nominated for an Oscar or that she was mocked for starring in Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> than those who remember, and still love and enjoy, the countless films she\u2019s starred in throughout her career. If you ask us, that doesn\u2019t make her a \u2018terrible actress\u2019 by any metric.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] Photo: <\/b>IMAGO<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keira Knightley is getting real…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10850"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10883,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10850\/revisions\/10883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}‘I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress.\u2019<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]