PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:
AT WORLD'S END
Q&A with Keira Knightley		 Search all of phase9.tv






Keira Knightley plays Elizabeth Swann in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END.

As director Gore Verbinski lines up a shot which will form part of the dramatic opening of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END the eagerly awaited third film in the hugely popular series, Keira Knightley takes a brief moment to prepare for the physical challenge ahead.

She will be running, at full pelt, through the alleyways and across bridges in the seedy red lantern district of old Singapore which, for filmmaking purposes, has been painstakingly recreated on a massive Universal Studios sound stage in Hollywood.

“It’s part of the opening sequence of the third film,” explains Keira. ”And without giving too much away, Will Turner and Elizabeth are being chased by a whole gang of not very nice people. Great fun!”

She beams a mega watt smile and is clearly enjoying the challenge and being reunited with Verbinski, Orlando Bloom – who plays her lover, Will Turner – and indeed Johnny Depp, who returns as the lovable pirate Captain Jack Sparrow.

“And on Pirates three we have some new faces as well,” explains Keira. “Including Chow Yun-Fat who is an Asian pirate and he’s absolutely wonderful. And we all adore him.”

Earlier in the day, she had been working on a complex sword fighting sequence in preparation for a scene later in the week. “Yes, I do a lot more sword fighting these days and we have to work on them to get them perfect. So today, when I’m not required for a scene, I’ll be working with the swords.”

The fantastic set is a great help for all the actors, she says, before praising the design team and the hard working crew who built it. “To be able to have such a brilliant backdrop to work with is such a help. They have done a marvellous job and they’ve worked so hard on it.”

Knightley filmed PIRATES 2 back to back with much of PIRATES 3 and admits that it has been a long, long haul. “It felt like the last two years had never happened and we’ve been working on PIRATES the entire time,” she notes. Not that she’s complaining. “We have got these fantastic sets, it’s pretty much exactly the same crew with a couple of additions, the same cast, same director, same writers, same producers obviously, so it really is like we never finished doing the first one and we have just continued.”

The first film, released in 2003, was a critical and box office triumph which starred Johnny Depp as the colourful pirate who rescues the beautiful governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann – played by Keira – from the villainous Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and his cohorts. Add a dash of romance, provided by Orlando Bloom as Elizabeth’s love, Will Turner, and the result was a funny, superbly paced action thriller which entertained young and old alike.

Today, in an interview during a break on set at the Universal Studios in Hollywood, Keira is in PIRATES 3 mode. Tomorrow, or the next day, it’s back to PIRATES 2. Doesn’t it get confusing?

“Hugely, yes,” she laughs. “It is a bit weird at the moment coming to the end of the number three chunk to suddenly try and get your head back in to number two. So in a funny kind of way it seems like one big long film as opposed to two separate films, which I suppose is a good thing, but it is a little strange.”

Keira is sworn to secrecy to keep a good deal of the story under wraps but she’s convinced that PIRATES 3 is looking in fantastic shape. “The look of it is really cool and it seems to have evolved in a kind of natural way for it,” she says.

At just 22 years old, Knightley has established herself as one of the leading actresses working in Hollywood. She was born and raised on the outskirts of London, the daughter of actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald.

After roles on British television, Knightley won international acclaim for her role in BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. She also starred in Richard Curtis’s romantic comedy, LOVE ACTUALLY, played Guinevere in KING ARTHUR and starred opposite Adrien Brody in THE JACKET. She was nominated for an Oscar for her role in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, played a bounty hunter in DOMINO and recently filmed THE ATONEMENT in the UK.


How is working on PIRATES 2 and 3 compared to the first film?

It has been really weird actually because I can’t even remember where we started. I guess we started in February and it felt like the last two years had never happened and we have been working on PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN the entire time. (Laughs) But it has been great. It’s a long haul, as I said. I have never done anything as long which makes it different, but the guys are great and it is pretty much all the same people and it’s nice, it’s good fun.

Have you kind of picked up where you left off from the first one?

Yes, pretty much. We have got theses fantastic sets, it’s pretty much exactly the same crew with a couple of additions, the same cast, same director, same writers, same producers obviously, so it really is like we never finished doing the first one and we have just continued.

What are you allowed to tell us a about what happens in PIRATES 3?

It’s great. It’s just more really, maybe a little bit darker and we have some really fantastic fight scenes.

Have you done much training for the role?

We are doing a big fight scene in the (studio) at the moment which is one of the reasons why I am not working because it takes so bloody long (laughs) But yeah we have done a lot of that and it was good, I did a couple of weeks training at the beginning of filming but the stunt guys are great and again they were the same guys as on the first one so I had worked with them before. And I think we all picked it up pretty quick so it was just really good.

Did you insist on the fight scenes being put in the script?

I wouldn’t say insist, no, I don’t think you can insist on anything, but I did ask, yeah. I mean on the first one they kept asking what I wanted for my character and I kept on saying ‘I want a sword.’ and I never got one so in this one they gave me two, so I am very lucky (laughs).

What sort of costumes do you wear in this one? Are you back in the corsets?

Well we are doing PIRATES 3 at the moment so I am in a kind of oriental type vibe thing with shorts - it’s the first time I have got legs out and it’s terrifying (laughs). Actually I am really glad, it’s so hot in there it is unbelievable, and everybody else has got their proper pirate stuff on and I am a little less dressed than everyone else and I am very glad, so that’s good. The rest of the time I’ve got kind of the Pirate look instead of the corset.

And do you prefer that rather than being strapped in?

I quite like corsets actually; it kind of gives you a character. You feel so ladylike but I kind of feel a little bit more like me now because I am in sort of boy’s attire. I am giving far too much away (laughs). Both are good.

Continued on page 2


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