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Keira Knightley has recalled her ‘very brutal’ experience being ‘stalked by men’ in her early 20s.
The 39-year-old actress role to fame in her late teens with Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and men’s behaviour following her role as Elizabeth Swann was ‘absolutely shocking’.
‘It’s very brutal to have your privacy taken away in your teenage years, early 20s, and to be put under that scrutiny at a point when you are still growing,’ she told the Los Angeles Times.
‘Having said that, I wouldn’t have the financial stability or the career that I do now without that period.
‘I had a five-year period between the age of 17 and 21-ish, and I’m never going to have that kind of success again. It totally set me up for life.’
However, she noted ‘it came at a big cost’, as she came under heavy scrutiny and faced body-shaming, as well as people following her in public spaces.
Keira noted at the time her ‘jaw dropped’ and she knew it wasn’t acceptable behaviour.
She said: ‘I was very clear on it being absolutely shocking. There was an amount of gaslighting to be told by a load of men that “you wanted this”.
‘It was rape speak. You know, “This is what you deserve.” It was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere.’
The Pride & Prejudice star pointed out that whatever the perceived reason behind their actions were, the men made her feel ‘the same’ way.
She added: ‘They very specifically meant I wanted to be stalked by men. Whether that was stalking because somebody was mentally ill, or because people were earning money from it — it felt the same to me.
‘It was a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye.’
She recently opened up about that period of her career, noting that while Pirates of the Caribbean helped her, it was also incredibly detrimental.
Despite the franchise being ‘the most successful films’ of her career, they also led to her being ‘taken down publicly’, with people being incredibly critical of her role.
‘It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time,’ she told The Times.
‘I was seen as s**t 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.’
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