The Beautiful Buccaneer

Ravishing beauty Keira Knightley talks about acting in PIrates of The Caribbean and the sequel and also on what makes Steven Spielberg angry.

“I had such a fantastic time making Pirates of the Caribbean, as did everybody else, that we were all desperate to do the second, and now we hear there’s going to be a third, too. I know the writers are writing away, so it will be fabulous,” burbles Keira Knightley, the stunning aristocrat who was recently chosen the most glamorous screen actress by Glamour magazine and the most desirable single woman in Britain by Tatler.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl made $305 million just in North America. Add in an additional $348 million overseas and you get a grand total of $653 million worldwide.

Eleven million DVD/VHS units were sold during its first week of release to the home video market, which made it the most successful live-action film in that medium. According to plans at Disney, the second high-seas adventure of Captain Jack Sparrow — tentatively titled Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Treasures of the Lost Abyss — will hit theatres in 2006, followed six months later by a third. Like The Matrix trilogy, the second and third installments are being shot at the same time in the same Caribbean locale of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Disney’s “Imagineers” transformed portions of St. Vincent into Capt. Jack

The rakish rogue stepped off his sinking boat onto the wooden dock, bedeviled the British Navy, and rescued a damsel-in-distress, the Governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann, played by Keira Knightley. It was at Petit Byahaut that Capt. Sparrow’s nemesis, the dastardly Captain Barbossa, hid his treasure. A natural rock formation just a hundred yards offshore was where Disney’s craftsmen chose to create the entrance to the pirate cave. Cables were strung from the rock to the adjacent hillside, which they covered in canvas and disguised to look like the rest of the landscape.

“The most difficult stunt I had to do in Pirates was walk the plank and because the plank was moving up and down, the wind was blowing and the sea was rocking us side-to-side,” Keira recalls. “It took two days to film but I felt very proud of myself once I’d done it.”

Rumour has it that Keira and her cohorts, most notably Johnny Depp, spent much time at the Ocean Allegro restaurant and pub on the mainland. In honour of their frequent visits, the bartender concocted a “Black Pearl Martini” that reportedly was popular with the cast.

Perhaps Keira may have felt a moment’s hesitation in embarking once again on this action adventure due to the difficulties with Elizabeth Swann’s corset. “I’m not a huge fan of corsets,” she confesses. “But it was my fault because it was done up too tightly. I got this Scarlett O’Hara thing in my head about a waist of 18 1/2 inches. I was like, ‘Ooh, yeah, wouldn’t it be fun if I did that.’ We went down to about 20 inches, which looked great, and it gives you fantastic cleavage and a tiny waistline. But the oxygen deprivation is a bit of a problem, along with the fact that if you swallow any food, it just stops and feels like it’s going to come up all day. Not too pleasant.”

Then there’s the memory of actually being shipwrecked. “My mum and I were shipwrecked in the Caribbean on our way to film Pirates. We got stranded on a reef with all our luggage.”And the fact that Keira is prone to seasickness. “I didn’t tell anyone I get seasick when we were making Pirates,” she admits. “But one day I got so queasy that I took a pill which made me extremely drowsy. In the middle of a take, one of the crew had to come over and nudge me because I fell sound asleep. After that, I sort of decided that I’d rather puke than fall asleep all the time, so that’s what I did. After awhile you get used to it. Once you get your sea legs, it’s incredible.”

Plus, Keira confides the exciting news that the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards has been confirmed for the role of Captain Jack Sparrow’s father – which is an added delight since Johnny Depp admits he modelled certain of Sparrow’s characteristics after those of the musician.

About her leading man, Keira has nothing but praise. “Johnny Depp is an amazing guy, really incredible. I think he is one of the most talented actors around. I can’t think of any other actor now who will take the risks that Johnny will. The opportunity to work with titans like Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush is, I think, every actor’s dream, and I was very lucky because neither of them has any ego at all. They’re lovely, lovely people.”

Recently turned 19, Keira is already something of a show-business veteran. As the story goes, her parents – Will Knightley, a London stage actor, and Sharman MacDonald, a Scottish-born actress-turned-playwright – agreed to have a second child if her mother sold a script. So, shortly after London’s Bush Theatre bought When I Was a Girl I Used To Scream and Shout, Keira entered the world.

“I was born on a bet,” she chuckles. Keira joined Caleb, her older brother who is now a BBC sound technician. At the age of three, Keira announced she wanted an agent of her own to call her as regularly as her parents’ agent phoned them. She began acting during school holidays, mostly small roles, like the made-for-TV Royal Celebration and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, in which she was Natalie Portman’s decoy.

From there, she went on to appear in British productions before starring in the BBC adaptation of Doctor Zhivago. After that came Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Love Actually and King Arthur.

Keira’s upcoming 2005 films include The Jacket and Pride and Prejudice, along with Jurassic Park IV. “The Jacket is a psychological thriller about the Persian Gulf War. For me, it was a real change of pace,” Keira notes.

“Pride and Prejudice is a new adaptation of the Jane Austen classic,” Keira continues. “I play Elizabeth Bennet, the eldest of five sisters. And the Jurassic Park IV project is so amazing because I’ve been a big fan of the original film for years. Steven (Spielberg) said he liked my work in Bend It Like Beckham and wanted to meet me. There were actually two roles in Jurassic Park that Steven thought I might fit. But I won’t go into any details in case I make Steven angry.

“I don’t think I can call myself an actress yet. I just don’t think my skill level is that high,” Keira concludes modestly. “I hope that with every job it gets better. But until I’m good, I can say that I’m trying to be an actor but I don’t think I’ve completely made it.”

Distributed By Asia Features