To me, the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice is a romantic masterpiece that is hard to top. It’s a top-tier romance adaptation, and Keira Knightley’s performance in it is utterly iconic. However, now, a new book-to-screen adaptation of a Jane Austen novel is coming, and I think it could live up to the expectations set by the 2005 movie. That’s right, the trailer for the new Sense and Sensibility is totally for the lovers of Knightley’s Pride and Prejudice.

Now, notably, this new movie is produced by Focus Features, the studio that made 2005’s Pride and Prejudice. So, I figured Sense and Sensibility could have a very similar feel to its fellow Austen adaptation.

However, there’s more to it than that. Daisy Edgar-Jones is leading this project on the 2026 movie schedule with a charm and strong-will that reminds me so much of Knightley’s performance as Elizabeth in the great film from the 2000s. I think she’s going to effortlessly lead this movie as Elinor Dashwood, and this trailer proves that the Normal People star was made for period romances. Sincerely, she was born to be a leading lady in a Jane Austen adaptation, just like the Pride and Prejudice star was.

Of course, we can also compare this upcoming movie to 1995’s Sense and Sensibility, which starred Emma Thompson. However, to me, the overall look and energy of 2026’s adaptation is more reminiscent of 2005’s Pride and Prejudice. That’s thanks to the warm cinematography, the eclectic chemistry between Edgar-Jones and George MacKay, and the Twisters star’s overall performance.

Now, with all that said, let’s dive into some of the details about this new movie that’s described as “a charming, witty, and deeply relatable story of love and sisterhood.” Alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sense and Sensibility stars George MacKay as Edward Ferrars, Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood, Caitríona Balfe as Mrs. Dashwood and Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Jennings. Georgia Oakley is the movie’s director, and it was penned by Diana Reid.

Notably, two of Sense and Sensibility’s producers, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, were also producers on Pride and Prejudice. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, both projects were made by Focus Features. So, it’s not shocking that the parallels are so strong between the two films.

However, it also feels like this movie will give us a take on this story that’s very fresh. It has a team of up-and-coming artists behind it, and they’ve assembled an ensemble cast of established stars and promising new names. So, yes, I do think that this will be an “irresistible new take on Jane Austen’s iconic” story, as the film’s synopsis states.

With all that said, it’s time to get excited for Sense and Sensibility. I really think we’re in for a period romance for the ages, and you better believe I’ll be seated in the theater on October 16 to see it. In the meantime, I’ll be re-watching 2005’s Pride and Prejudice.

I'm of the opinion that Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice is easily one of the most romantic movies of all time, the film filled with plenty of swoon-worthy moments – from Mr. Darcy’s confession in the rain, to the small way Darcy flexes his hand around Elizabeth. The most romantic scene, though, has to be when these iconic enemies-cum-lovers meet in the field at daybreak and finally give in to their feelings for one another. Even better, the whole cast and crew woke up to watch the epic make-out session between Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden, and after hearing the story, I wish I was there.

Rosamund Pike recently appeared as a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she was asked about the best moment she had while filming Pride and Prejudice. Pike plays Elizabeth’s older sister Jane Bennett in the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic. Surprisingly, the Now You See Me 3 actress said her most treasured memory from the set wasn’t even from a day when she was filming, but a scene she witnessed that still makes her tear up to this day:

The Gone Girl actress went on to say that the five Bennett sisters on that film – Pike, Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Talulah Riley, and Jena Malone – were like real life sisters on set, something that translated well onscreen.

It sounds like seeing MacFayden walk all the way through the field towards Knightley in that penultimate moment as the sun came up was just as emotional as if it were really Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. I will say, Darcy certainly set a high standard for men to live up to in that moment, the way he stutters “I love you” three times like he can’t say it enough.

The fact that the scene was actually shot as dawn was breaking is so impressive. You've only got one chance to do it right, and it adds another layer to the magic of the moment, as Pike said. So does MacFayden’s walk to Elizabeth. Since the actor started so far away, not only did it require an extremely early cast and crew call to get the lighting right, but he told People that he couldn’t even see the director at first because of the distance.

In the end, the early call time was all worth it though, as you can physically see the natural light get brighter and brighter until it is shining through their faces as they lean in for a kiss. Check out the iconic scene below:

No wonder this scene is still being talked about all these years later, and by the cast themselves! All I’m thinking now is the Netflix version of Pride and Prejudice, which is set to come out sometime on the 2026 Netflix release schedule, has a lot to live up to. The teaser looks promising, showing Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennett and Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy, but if the entire cast isn’t getting up at 3am to watch the leads have a romantic, steamy kiss, then I'm not sure I want it.

Keira Knightley has built an incredible career, but it’s quite likely that whatever else she might do, she will always be remembered first for two of her earliest movies. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) is still wildly popular and has grossed billions at the global box office, and Love Actually is so popular that its most famous scene with Knightley has been parodied more times than one can count. And yet, it seems the one person who hasn’t seen those films (much) is Keira Knightley herself.

In a recent appearance on the BBC’s Scott Mills breakfast Show (via People), Knightley talks about the fact that she’s not really one to ever watch her own work. She either avoids watching the movies she makes entirely or she sees them once at the premiere, and then never again. She explained…

Knightley isn’t the only actor who avoids watching themself. Others have spoken before about how difficult it can be. Some find themselves dwelling on their mistakes, while others just seem to get embarrassed at seeing themselves on screen. Knightley seems to be in this latter category, as she literally seems to have an issue just looking at her own face.

However, this avoidance of her own work means that, while lots of people will surely be watching Love Actually at least once over the next couple of months, as many consider it one of the best Christmas movies ever. Knightley doesn’t rewatch it every Christmas. In fact, she only watched it one time when it first came out. She said…

Although having seen Love, Actually once, that’s one more time than she apparently saw the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It sounds like after seeing the second one at the premiere, she decided she didn’t want to see the third. Why? Too many close-ups of herself. Knightley continued…

Perhaps it’s the fact that Keira Knightley never saw the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie that resulted in her seeming to forget she had a cameo in the fifth Pirates movie. It’s easy to forget when you had your cameo, when you can easily lose track of how many movies there have even been.

Keira Knightley may not watch her movies, but plenty of the rest of us do. And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I don’t mind her face one bit.

It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that Keira Knightley was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy alone made Knightley a household name. The actress has spoken before about how difficult it was for her to handle that level of fame at the time, but considering how terrible the paparazzi were at the time, that’s not entirely shocking.

Celebrity has to be a strange thing at any age, but Knightley was all of 18-years-old when she starred in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. She tells The Times that there was simply a point where things changed, and the paparazzi showed up at her home and then never left. She explained…

Compared to other celebrities her age, who were stars around that time, such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, Knightley had far fewer moments that made for tabloid headlines at the time. However, she says that she did, in fact, “go mad” just like those others. She was just more successful at hiding it.

While paparazzi still follow celebrities and ask them questions, often attempting to get them to say or do something that will make headlines, the problem was even worse decades ago. Knightley remembers the photographers saying some absolutely horrible things simply to elicit a reaction from Knightley or somebody she was with. She continued…

Knightley may not have shaved her head like Britney Spears, but she reacted in her own way. The Love, Actually star says she began to wear the same clothes over and over again as a way to make pictures of her less valuable, a move Daniel Radcliffe would use later. If she knew there were photographers around, she would simply stop walking because a photo of her standing in one place wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday simply wasn’t worth anything to them.

Today, it seems things are much better for the 40-year-old Keira Knightley. She’s got a successful series in Black Doves and a new movie called The Woman in Cabin 10, both available with a Netflix subscription. Keira Knightley is still a star, though she’s one who clearly is enjoying not being hounded by photographers anymore.

There was a point in the early 2000s when Keira Knightley was one of the most famous actresses on the planet, mostly thanks to portraying Elizabeth Swann in Disney’s megahit Pirates of the Caribbean but also due to roles in Star Wars, Love Actually, Bend it like Beckham and more. To me, she’s pretty perfect, but to some other fans she’s …. apparently Natalie Portman?

While promoting her new movie The Woman in Cabin 10, Keira Knightley revealed that she gets approached by fans all the time. The only problem? They aren’t always her fans. She told HitsRadioUK she’s so used to this happening now that when fans send Portman a compliment, she just openly accepts it, saying:

’m sure there are plenty of people who know who Portman is, but fans of George Lucas’ Star Wars probably completely understand the mixup. In fact, Natalie Portman definitely understands the mix-up, as she’s admitted people think she’s Keira Knightley all the time, too.

Back in 1999, when the then-latest Star Wars movie The Phantom Menace came out, Knightley famously was dressed up as Queen Amidala in the movie, while Portman played the real Amidala dressed as a handmaiden. People still mix the two up in the movie, and Knightley herself is occasionally confused about her Star Wars gig, so I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise this happens elsewhere, too. However, if you saw them together in real life, you’d probably never make the mistake, as Keira grew from her 12-year-old self into a woman who is reportedly 5’7” while Natalie Portman capped at around “5’3” (and her shortness is legendary in the Marvel Universe).

Keira Knightley Can Always Tell When A 'Real' Fan Knows Who She Is

Of course, some of her best fans are still kids, in particular athletic kids, who are still watching her and inspired by her work in Bend if like Beckham. When asked what she most gets recognized for, she said in the same interview:

So, the fans who know exactly who she is probably make up for any blips from those Star Wars fans who still mix them both up more than 25 years later.

She’s in good company, as people think Mark Wahlberg is Matt Damon a fair amount. (Which, honestly what? At least Matt Damon knows Jesse Plemons is his look-alike.) And the legendary mix-up of Dylan McDermott and Dermot Mulroney has existed long enough SNL has mocked it. More recently, Glen Powell and This is Us’ Justin Hartley have been frequently mistaken for one another. So this sort of thing happens more than you might think.

Some SPOILERS lie ahead for The Woman In Cabin 10, which is now streamable with a Netflix subscription.

A number of cinephiles love following book-to-screen adaptations. However, for the creatives, who make said films, they often come with an added pressure since readers will inherently compare and contrast with the source material. The film adaptation of Ruth Ware’s The Woman In Cabin 10 just made its debut on Netflix amid the 2025 movie schedule, and there’s one notable change from the novel. With that, I just had to ask the filmmaker and author about this when we spoke.

What's The Big Change Made In The Woman In Cabin 10 Film, And What Did The Director Say About It?

The premise of The Woman In Cabin 10 stays relatively unchanged in the movie. It still follows a journalist named Lo Blacklock (played by Keira Knightley in the movie) as she boards a luxury yacht on assignment and witnesses the woman in the cabin next to her being thrown overboard. However, when she reports the incident, it’s revealed to her no one was ever staying in that cabin, and the entire crew is accounted for. This leads to a thrilling mystery Lo must solve on her own in order to prove herself right.

In the book, the story is told from a first-person perspective, with Lo being sleep deprived due to a recent break-in in her own home, her history of mental health struggles and a recent kerfuffle in her relationship. With that, there’s perhaps some evidence for the reader to parse through in regard to whether Lo is a reliable narrator or not. However, the movie doesn’t really have any of these details. Simon Stone, who co-wrote the script and helmed the film, spoke to CinemaBlend about the changes, saying:

Stone also added in our interview that he thinks Lo is a believable character regardless of her mental state. As he continued, the changes were made in order to highlight the strengths of the story and avoid thriller tropes. In his words:

The movie also makes Lo a much more active character throughout, who is more central to the answer of the mystery than the novel originally made her. Hey, the book was made in 2016 and, as we’ll discuss with my chat with the book’s author, a book and movie are different mediums to consider.

What Ruth Ware Thinks About The Woman In Cabin 10 Change

In a separate interview, I asked the best-selling author behind the book, Ruth Ware, about the change to Lo’s characterization. She provided some very intriguing thoughts to CinemaBlend:

It’s perhaps more attractive as a writer to create a character in a thriller with some obvious blindspots to entertain and challenge the reader further. But, when it comes to her thoughts on the changes, Ware feels they align with her original intentions with the book anyway. She said this:

Ware said she “never saw her as an unreliable narrator”, just someone who other characters in the story saw that way. Ware also shared more thoughts:

Well, there you have it! It's always interesting to hear the director or screenwriter of a book adaptation to explain their rationale for changes made to the story. Of course, it's also great to hear what the author of the source material thinks about alterations as well. In this case, it seems Simon Stone's adjustments made sense in the eyes of Ruth Ware, which is quite cool, given such changes could've been risky.

Check out The Woman in Cabin 10 for yourself on Netflix now. Also, read up on what it was like for Keira Knightley and the cast to film the movie on a yacht. And, of course, be sure to stay remain in the know when it comes to 2025 Netflix movies that are on the way.

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been such a massive success for Disney that in addition to the five movies that have already been released, a sixth movie, which will likely be a major reboot of the franchise, is still planned, despite it taking the better part of a decade so far. At this point, it’s difficult to even remember exactly what happened in which of the different Pirates movies, which is maybe why Keira Knightley straight up forgot she was even in one.

Keira Knightley, who starred in three Pirates of the Caribbean movies and had a brief cameo in the fifth one, leads the new movie The Woman in Cabin 10, available today with a Netflix subscription. Included in the film’s cast is Kaya Scodelario, who, though she shared no scenes with Knightley, also appeared in the most recent film. This connection was brought up by The Wrap in a recent interview with Knightley, though the actress somewhat hilariously forgot she was even in that movie. Check out the exchange below.

If you forgot Keira Knightley was in the last "Pirates of the Caribbean," don't worry — even she forgot. Knightley was visibly stunned when TheWrap's Andi Ortiz pointed out that she was briefly in the fifth Pirates, which featured Knightley's "The Woman in Cabin 10" co-star Kaya Scodelario.

— @thewrap.com (@thewrap.com.bsky.social) 2025-10-10T17:09:53.775Z

I have to say I adore this entire interaction. The fact that Keira Knightley straight-up forgot she was in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is kind of hilarious. She handles the news remarkably well, though, and appreciates the information. Honestly, the interviewer might be even more embarrassed by the situation as the person breaking the news.

To be fair to Keira Knightley, I don’t think we can necessarily blame her for forgetting her in Pirates 5. She absolutely remembers that she had a brief cameo in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie; she just doesn’t realize that it was the fifth one. Honestly, sometimes I have to remind myself how many Pirates of the Caribbean movies there have been, and I consider myself a pretty big fan of the franchise.

Keira Knightley also has something of a love/hate relationship with the entire Pirates franchise. They made her a movie star, which helped her achieve the level of success that she currently has, but she’s spoken openly about the difficulties she had after the films, specifically the way she was objectified by fans.

While Orlando Bloom has suggested getting the band back together for the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, it seems unlikely at this point that Knightley will want to return. The cameo in Pirates 5, the one she forgot about, wrapped up the storyline for her character, Elizabeth Swann, and Bloom’s Will Turner, so there’s no real need for any such return. At least if there aren't any more Pirates movies for Knightley, she won't have any more she needs to remember. She has plenty of movies behind her without playing Elizabeth anyway!

The latest of the upcoming book adaptations that’s new to streaming this week is the movie for Ruth Ware’s bestselling thriller, The Woman In Cabin 10. Like the novel, it follows a journalist who gets invited on a fancy yacht to cover her latest story. While you’d think getting the opportunity to hang out on the water might be the stuff of dreams, when CinemaBlend spoke to Keira Knightley, the actress dispelled any fantasies we might have about the whole thing.

Ahead of The Woman In Cabin 10 becoming one of the new 2025 movies to stream with a Netflix subscription, I got to chat with Knightley and writer/director Simon Stone about the making of the psychological nail-biter. They told me that they spent three weeks on a real yacht shooting The Woman In Cabin 10, but there was a unique vibe on set. As Keira Knightley shared:

Stone added that it was “deeply challenging” to represent the sort of “luxury and ease” that comes with being aboard the elaborate yacht when there were 70 crew members on board and a lot of largely expensive upholstery to think about.

For example, apparently the carpet was worth $200,000. As Keira Knightley continued:

Simon Stone likened the experience to being treated like school children, and yes, that includes big-name actors like Knightley and her co-stars Guy Pearce, Hannah Waddingham and Kaya Scodelario. The director joked that one could produce an entire comedy about the A-list actors being “terrified” of the yacht’s gray carpet on the set.

When we talked to Guy Pearce, he additionally told us that the crew for the actual boat was used for the crew in the movie as well, due to the need to conserve the amount of people on the yacht, which was already way more people than you’d usually find on that sort of vehicle. Luckily, it was just a third of the filming schedule. The actress, who recently starred in the acclaimed Netflix series Black Doves, also said this:

The Woman In Cabin 10 novel was published back in 2016, which has sold over 10 million copies. Ruth Ware told us Knightley’s casting was beyond her “wildest dreams” for the role of Laura "Lo" Blacklock, who sees the gal in the cabin next to her go overboard before all the evidence quickly starts being covered up. The movie starts streaming on Netflix on Friday, October 10.

October is here, and while that may mean wall-to-wall horror movies for a lot of fans with streaming subscriptions, there’s actually a great deal more to enjoy streaming this week. Here’s a look at six non-horror movies and series that might be worth checking out.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Season 2 - October 8 (Disney+)

If there’s something to be said for traditional television, it’s that the gap between seasons of new TV is still pretty small. Such is the case with Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the Disney Channel series that is responsible for most of the world being introduced to Selena Gomez. The second season of the reboot series, co-produced by Gomez makes its debut with your Disney+ subscription this week.

Maintenance Required - October 8 (Prime Video)

In an era where smaller movies continue to struggle theatrically, streaming has become a key platform for classics like the old-fashioned rom-com. Maintenance Required stars Madelaine Petsch and Jacob Scipio as anonymous online friends with a spark between them who are also real-life business rivals.

How To Train Your Dragon - October 10 (Peacock)

While Disney may get the credit for creating the concept of the live-action remake of an animated film, other studios have clearly gotten the memo. The live-action version of How To Train Your Dragon was a solid box office hit, and a sequel is already on the way. If you’re one of the few who didn’t catch the movie the first time around, or you just want to see it again, you can do so with a Peacock subscription this week.

John Candy: I Like Me - October 10 (Prime Video)

John Candy is one of the most beloved comedians of all time. John Candy: I Like Me, the new documentary film from director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds, takes a look at the life and career of Candy, including numerous interviews from his friends, family, and co-stars. After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, you’ll need a Prime Video subscription to see it this week.

The Woman In Cabin 10 - October 10 (Netflix)

Keira Knightley stars in The Woman in Cabin 10 as a journalist covering a charity event on board a luxury yacht when she witnesses what she believes is a woman going overboard. The problem is that, according to everybody else, everybody on board is accounted for. With a cast that includes Guy Pearce, Hannah Waddingham, and fellow Pirates of the Caribbean alum Kaya Scodelario, this one looks to be a suspenseful thriller worth having your Netflix subscription ready.

The Last Frontier - October 10 (Apple TV+)

Jon Bokenkamp, the creator of The Blacklist, is back with a brand new series, The Last Frontier. Jason Clarke stars as a U.S. Marshall stationed in Alaska when a planeload of convicts goes down, leading to multiple escapes. This one looks to have plants of twists and turns in the plot, not unlike Bokenkamp’s previous effort. To see this one, you’ll need an Apple TV+ subscription.

If more horror is what you’re looking for, fear not. The coming weeks will have plenty of spooky stuff coming to streaming, including the debut of IT: Welcome to Derry, something fans of the recent film won’t want to miss.

Keira Knightley is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the still-beloved (and rewatched) Pride & Prejudice. As successful as the film was though, that specific time in her life did leave her with some scars… and no, we’re not talking about sword fighting. Knightley got candid about feeling like there was a lot of hate toward her for her role in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which she starred in around the same time she made the book adaptation.. On top of that, she also explained how the response to the Jane Austen film threw her for a loop.

The actress recently sat down with her P&P co-star, Rosamund Pike, to discuss the romance film for its anniversary. Both actresses shared some fun tidbits, including a fun Donald Sutherland story involving a gas mask at a party. Knightley eventually opened up about the interesting dichotomy of being linked to both the adaptation of the Jane Austen novel and Disney's blockbuster pirate saga:

This new interview, which was conducted by Vanity Fair, wasn’t the first time Keira Knightley has been honest about how she felt while making the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. In fact, she's been quite candid about the ups and downs that came with playing Elizabeth Swann alongside Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow and Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner. She also said this during her recent chat:

The first Pirates movie earned a lot of great praise from critics when it hit theaters 2003. but the second film, 2006's Dead Man's Chest, was not met with the same reactions. Nevertheless, that follow-up mostly well received amongst fans.

Keira Knightley previously said she felt like she “was seen as shit” by the public at the time due to her connection to the massive IP. During another interview, Knightley said she didn't enjoy playing a character who was “the object of everybody’s lust”. In short, the star felt “very constrained” as Elizabeth Swann. So, when Pride & Prejudice earned positive reviews, an Oscar nomination and commercial success, she wasn’t sure how to take it.

To put something in context, Knightley was 18 years old when the first Pirates movie came out and 20 when Pride & Prejudice opened in theaters. I'd imagine it can't be easy for someone that age to become so famous and have to contend with commentary on their performances and physical appearance. Knightley has also talked before about how “brutal” it was for her privacy to be taken away as a teenager and to be “put under that scrutiny when you are still growing.”

Knightley has also referred to her time being a young actress in the early 2000s as a “very violent, misogynistic atmosphere,” as it included commentary about her weight and suggestions that she had an eating disorder – which she says she didn’t have. She suffered a mental breakdown at the age of 22 before being diagnosed with PTSD and taking a year off acting.

It’s certainly a shame that Keira Knightley’s most fruitful time of her career had to be accompanied by such negativity. While that’s perhaps what the media projected at her, she was and remains -- in fans' eyes -- iconic for playing the fiery and headstrong Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates movies in so many fans’ eyes. And, of course, she'll also remain iconic for playing Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice, which is streamable with a Max subscription.

Have you heard that Pride & Prejudice is 20 years old? The movie returned to theaters earlier this year to celebrate that fact, but Keira Knightley and Rosamund Pike also reunited to swap stories about shooting the romance based on the Jane Austen classic. I certainly wouldn’t have guessed Knightley’s story that involved Donald Sutherland turning up to a party in a gas mask, but it’s actually a sweet behind the scenes bit.

Sutherland has no longer been with us for almost a year now, following his death at the age of 88 in June of last year. When remembering the late actor, Keira Knightley recalled a funny story about what it was like to be his co-star. As she shared:

In a new conversation for Vanity Fair, Knightley shared Sutherland’s grounds for being on Pride & Prejudice, which wasn’t an easy clause to follow considering most of the actors on it were 20-somethings who found smoking all the rage at the time. But, here’s the best part:

Donald Sutherland certainly set some clear boundaries when it came to being around smoke on set, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be part of the fun with his co-stars. Can you imagine the sight of Sutherland casually with a gas mask on at a party alongside the likes of Knightley, Pike, Carey Mulligan, Mathew Macfadyen and Tom Hollander? If only there was a picture somewhere.

Apparently Donald Sutherland used to be heavy into cigarettes, allegedly smoking four packs a day “back in the ‘60s and ‘70s” (per RadarOnline) before he decided to quit. Then, he became so against it he’d regularly ask to keep cigarette usage at least 100 yards away from him on movie sets.

When he died last year, it was due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a type of long-term lung disease that makes it hard for the person to breathe. Smoking is the main cause of COPD, so it sounds like Sutherland’s decision to vehemently stay away from smoking was due to serious health concerns.

Pride & Prejudice not only remains one of the best Donald Sutherland movies 20 years after its release, but one of those beloved movies people rewatch all the time (such as the guy who went viral for doing so three times in a row on a plane). These days, people are always talking about the iconic hand flex scene and quoting the movie’s romantic moments left and right. Keira Knightley’s memory of Sutherland on set is totally unexpected, but kind of amazing. You have to love how the actor balanced doing what's best for him and having a good time.

Sure, 2005’s Pride & Prejudice has been sitting right there at home to watch with my Netflix subscription (until it leaves at the end of the month anyway), but I had a feeling going out of my way to see the movie’s 20th anniversary re-release in theaters would be a unique experience I wouldn’t forget, and I was absolutely right. But, I wasn’t expecting Donald Sutherland’s performance as Mr. Bennet to be the thing about it that I walked away wanting to talk about the most.

I can’t believe Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice is two decades old because the movie doesn’t feel like it has aged a day, except for seeing its incredible cast in their younger years, of course. My recent in-theater viewing experience cemented for me how timeless and exquisite it is, making it absolutely one of the great movies based on classic literature in my book. While I went into it ready to be dazzled by Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s romance (including that iconic hand flex), the way the filmmakers intended, instead, I want to take some time to appreciate the late Donald Sutherland’s part in the movie.

Donald Sutherland’s Performance As Mr. Bennet Really Floors Me

While I remembered Donald Sutherland being in the movie, this was the first time I had seen the movie since the actor’s passing in the summer of 2024 at the age of 88, so maybe my attention was more keenly focused on Mr. Bennet, but honestly I don’t think that would have made a difference, because wow, is he the underrated highlight of this movie.

Mr. Bennet is Elizabeth’s father, and Sutherland takes a supporting role in most of the story, as most of the focus goes to Knightley’s performance as the young, headstrong woman navigating being courted by numerous men alongside her four sisters while living in 18th-century England. While his role is small, Sutherland makes a huge impression because he’s the character who ended up getting me to tear up by the movie’s conclusion.

I Love His Reaction When Elizabeth Rejects Mr. Collins

Remember the scene where Elizabeth is proposed to by an eccentric clergyman named Mr. Collins (played by Tom Hollander)? Well, earlier in the movie, before that happens, when Mr. Collins first comes to town, Elizabeth and her father exchange understanding looks about their distaste for the clergyman. I felt that moment wonderfully illustrates how the father/daughter are emotionally connected, and it rewards the audience later when he asks for her hand.

She refuses him, even though she was passing on a comfortable living for herself and her family, and, as an audience, we understand that he’s on her side. While her mother gets instantly enraged by Elizabeth’s actions, her father shows undying support for her by revealing he’ll never talk to her again if she goes back on her decision and listens to his wife/her mother.

How Mr. Bennet handles the Mr. Collins' situation made me feel like I was witnessing a real relationship because you can see how his fathering supports Elizabeth’s strong-willed personality she has in turn and tendency to go with what she feels is right. Certainly, many women of her time would just blindly agree with any proposal out of fear, but what makes Elizabeth special is her inability to go along with something just to fit in.

Mr. Bennet truly cares for her happiness more than anything, and isn’t having any of the societal politics her mother might care about. It kind of reminds me of the dynamic I share with my own dad on many occasions when my mom has gotten caught up in the details and emotions instead. Sometimes dads just have your back because they simply get you like no one else does!

The Scene That Made Me Cry Was When He Realizes Elizabeth Has Found Her Husband

This brings me to the scene that really got me during my Pride and Prejudice rewatch. It’s the moment right after Mr. Darcy meets with him to ask for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, and he meets with his daughter. Even though her new suitor is unbelievably rich as is, he’s confused because he didn’t suspect this marriage after she showed clear distaste for Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth then explains how she misjudged Mr. Darcy, and it took her some time to see his true colors.

It’s suggested then that she goes on to explain to him how Mr. Darcy went out of his way to make things right between Jane and Mr. Bingley after originally steering him away from her sister, along with finding her youngest sister, Lydia, who ran away with Wickham, and secretly paid for their wedding. The scene ends with Mr. Bennet in tears because he realizes his daughter has found a good man and is truly in love. It leads him to say this:

And that’s the moment I couldn’t help but tear up. I hadn’t focused on it before in prior viewings, but Pride & Prejudice is as much about a family’s connection to marriage as it is about falling in love itself, and that's so simple, but so special to me. In a single scene, Donald Sutherland is able to communicate a lifetime of deep love for his daughter, whom he knows he’ll have to part with and give away to a man. The realization on his face that his daughter is going to be OK and happy as he continues to get older is the sweetest scene in the whole movie, in my opinion.

Pride & Prejudice’s Romance Is Actually Better Because It Includes The Father’s Perspective With Such Vulnerability

So many love stories deal with the dynamic of a young woman falling in love despite their parents’ wishes or consent, but I actually found this story to be more romantic because she has these moments with her father. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with those stories, especially when the female character is listening to her own heart rather than going for what’s expected of her, but there’s something really wonderful about this story having the father being on the side of the daughter and checking in with her before getting incredibly moved by the result of her finding her person. At the end of the day, most of us look up to our parents and want them to be happy, and I love that the movie spent time on Elizabeth getting that with her father rather than her sisters or anyone else.

I promise you, without those scenes, Pride & Prejudice just wouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s definitely time to count this among the best Donald Sutherland movies. Anyway, you can still catch the movie in select theaters and stream it at home. I wonder if the Pride & Prejudice series, which is among upcoming book adaptations, will spend time on this plotline, too, or go in another direction.

Mr. Darcy is the king of pining. The man got a degree in yearn-alism, he’s an expert at longing looks, and his love for Elizabeth Bennet is to die for. That’s made abundantly clear throughout the entirety of one of the 2000s' best movies, Pride & Prejudice, thanks to Matthew Macfadyen’s brilliant performance. However, one moment everyone still talks about is that hand flex – you know which one I’m talking about. Now, right as the movie turns 20, the director is sharing the story behind that iconic moment.

In this scene, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are parting ways, and as she starts to step into the carriage, he puts his hand out to help her up. Sparks fly, and as Macfadyen’s character walks away, he flexes his hand. According to Joe Wright, the director of the Jane Austen adaptation, that final piece wasn’t in the script, but it was important to the story, as he told People:

Honestly, I feel like this scene is pivotal in turning these enemies into lovers, and it helps paint an intricate love story that makes Pride & Prejudice one of the best romantic movies. So, it’s wild that this almost didn’t happen. However, thank goodness Matthew Macfadyen had the idea, because it became one of the film’s most iconic scenes.

Wright went on to explain that this moment shows how Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have an attraction that their minds don’t understand quite yet. The way Macfadyen's hand flexes shows – subtly – that he was impacted by touching Elizabeth’s hand, and after that, we see both of them fall head over heels for each other.

Speaking more about the meaning of this scene, the director of one of Keira Knightley’s best films said:

Ah! I’m swooning all over again. Every time I watch Pride & Prejudice, I fall deeply in love with the way Mr. Darcy specifically falls for Elizabeth, and this moment is one of the reasons why.

However, at the time, Wright wasn’t so sure. He recalled what it was like filming this carriage scene back in the early 2000s, and explained why he initially thought it didn’t convey what he wanted it to:

They didn’t just get the shot, they created a pop culture moment. It’s been 20 years since this film came out, and people still talk about the Mr. Darcy hand flex all the time.

Now, they’ll get to see it on the big screen too, as Pride & Prejudice is returning to theaters between April 20 and 23. If you can’t witness it back on the big screen, you can swoon over Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy by streaming the 2005 classic with a Netflix subscription.

Anytime I have a flight, I try to use it as a time to catch up on or rewatch older movies. However, sometimes, I find myself binging five or six episodes of a show I'm obsessed with instead. For one man, he did both those things in a way as he watched Pride & Prejudice, then re-watched Pride & Prejudice and then watched the 2005 film one more time. Now, it’s going viral on TikTok, and I’m so here for how supportive the internet is being over his choice to watch one of Keira Knightley's best movies over and over again.

A Man Was Seen Watching Pride & Prejudice Three Times In A Row On A Plane

Now, this unidentified man was caught on camera by Paris Flack on TikTok, and they noted over the video that they were “obsessed” with this man for watching the movie three times in a row. As someone who’s been on quite the journey with re-watching Pride & Prejudice, I had the same thought after I saw this video:

Clearly, the girls and all the Pride & Prejudice fans adored this clip, because it’s gone seriously viral. At the time of this writing, it’s sitting at 1.7 million views and 492 thousand likes. So, I think you can assume that folks were just as bewitched by this TikTok as this man was by this film that’s considered one of the 2000s best, and they made that clear in the comments too.

The Internet Loves That He Watched Pride & Prejudice Over And Over

While watching a film three times in a row is not a common occurrence (at least for me), the people in the comments of this video could relate hardcore to this guy who was probably having a great time watching Pride & Prejudice. To quote kristen nicole’s comment:

Of course, they weren’t the only one showing love in the comments. The girlies adore Pride & Prejudice, so obviously, they had to sound off about their affection for the film and this man. I’m pleased to report that their reactions to this choice are A+, hilarious and loving. Take a look:

• It has bewitched him body and soul. He loves it ardently. -Nessie Stressie
• what could possibly follow pride and prejudice (2005) but pride and prejudice (2005) -user1121024006296
• First watch is for the pleasure, second watch is for the analysis, third watch for the vibes -InfiniteTypes
• Typical Saturday for me -Kayla
• x3 is not enough -TikTok UK
• Oh he has taste -Jessica Joyce
• Me and I’d be whispering the entire script when I wasn’t actively weeping -Allie | The Slay at Home Wife

I think this action, as well as the comments about it, are deserving of a Mr. Darcy hand flex and a heartfelt monologue. It’s so fun to see everyone support this guy’s film choices, and I hope it’s inspired them to all go back and watch Pride & Prejudice.

Speaking of that, if you are looking to watch Pride & Prejudice one, two, three or more times, you can stream it with a Netflix subscription or Peacock subscription. Also, if you want to see the film on a much larger screen than the one provided on the back of an airplane seat, the film will be in theaters on April 20.

Keira Knightley has had some incredible roles over the years, from a fun teen comedy, Bend it Like Beckham, to Pride & Prejudice, to Atonement, to The Imitation Game. But for many fans, she’ll always be Elizabeth Swann, the fearless, sharp-witted heroine from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. And while she made swashbuckling and sword-fighting look easy, it turns out filming wasn’t always smooth sailing for the actress—especially when it came to stunts.

In a behind-the-scenes clip recently shared by the Instagram account Cineatomy, Knightley revealed that she initially thought the movies based on theme park attractions would be a breezy job. But she quickly realized the action-packed role had other plans for her. She recalled:

One particularly nerve-wracking moment came when she had to perform a high dive off a ship's plank. She admitted that standing on the plank for two whole days had her completely petrified. When director Gore Verbinski told her she didn’t have to go through with the stunt, she wasn’t about to back down. She continued:

Talk about dedication! And while she may have been terrified, she was all smiles once she hit the water. She recounted:

It’s safe to say Knightley’s Pirates of the Caribbean experience was far more in line with the best action movies than she anticipated. From epic sword fights to daring escapes, Elizabeth Swann held her own alongside Jack Sparrow and Will Turner, proving to be one of the franchise’s best characters.

Though she bowed out of the series after At World's End (only briefly returning for a cameo in Dead Men Tell No Tales), the Black Doves performer’s portrayal of Elizabeth remains iconic. And knowing she tackled many of her own stunts makes her performance even more impressive.

For fans wanting to relive Keira Knightley's swashbuckling adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its sequels are available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. There’s been a lot of buzz about what’s next for the franchise, but one thing’s for sure: thanks to the young actress’s energy, Elizabeth Swann will always be a sea legend.

Keira Knightley's next big project is a book-to-movie adaptation of The Woman in Cabin 10, which is hopefully set to be released sometime in the 2025 movie schedule.

If you’re a fan of book-to-movie adaptations — especially female-led thrillers like The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window — there’s another film to be on the lookout for -- hopefully on the 2025 movie schedule. Ruth Ware’s 2016 bestseller The Woman in Cabin 10 is headed to Netflix, so whether you’ve read the book and can’t wait to see how the story plays out on the screen, or if this is the first you’re hearing of the title, no worries! We’re here to relay everything we know about The Woman in Cabin 10 movie.

Author Ruth Ware is known to take inspiration from Agatha Christie in her crime thrillers, and if you've read The Woman in Cabin 10, you understand why. Fans of the book are likely excited to follow our travel journalist protagonist on this high-seas adventure, but when will it be available to stream with your Netflix subscription, and who can we expect to meet on this cruise ship of mysteries? Read on!

What Is The Woman In Cabin 10 Release Date?

Netflix hasn’t announced a release date for The Woman in Cabin 10, but principal photography reportedly took place on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England, in September 2024, and according to an Instagram post from David Ajala, one of the movie’s stars, filming wrapped in late November. Hopefully that means we’ll see the film at some point on the 2025 Netflix schedule.

What Is The Woman In Cabin 10 About?

The Woman in Cabin 10 centers around a travel journalist who has been assigned to cover the maiden voyage of a luxury yacht. One night she witnesses a passenger being tossed overboard, but when she reports the incident, no one believes her, as all of the passengers are accounted for. Sure of what she saw, the journalist continues to investigate, which only leads to more danger for herself.

The Woman In Cabin 10 Cast

Keira Knightley has been cast as the travel journalist who possibly witnesses a crime while covering the yacht’s launch, and Netflix announced she’ll be joined by Guy Pearce, Hannah Waddingham and several others when The Woman in Cabin 10 hits the streamer.

Keira Knightley

As previously mentioned, Keira Knightley is set to star as the journalist who believes she witnesses a terrible crime while on assignment. In Ruth Ware’s book, the character is named Lauren “Lo” Blacklock, but no character information for the upcoming movie has yet been released.

Keira Knightly is known primarily for movies, including titles like Atonement, Love Actually, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and 2005’s Pride & Prejudice, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. She also earned an Oscar nod for her role in The Imitation Game in 2014. In December 2024 she starred in the Netflix original series Black Doves, which is a binge-worthy offering that earned Knightley a Golden Globe nomination.

Guy Pearce

Australian actor Guy Pearce has also been confirmed for The Woman in Cabin 10, though his role has not yet been divulged. Pearce was nominated for a 2025 Golden Globe for his role in The Brutalist. He’s also well-known for roles in films including Memento, The Time Machine, The Hurt Locker, Alien: Covenant and many more.

Hannah Waddingham

Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham is another familiar face in the upcoming Netflix movie in a to-be-announced role. In addition to playing Rebecca Welton on the popular Apple TV+ series — a role that won her an Emmy in 2021 — Waddingham can be seen on Game of Thrones, The Fall Guy and several stage productions on London’s West End.

Other Actors Confirmed For The Woman In Cabin 10

A host of other talent has also been confirmed for the upcoming Ruth Ware adaptation, including:

• Gitte Witt (Cadaver, The Sleepwalker)
• Art Malik (The Little Mermaid, Homeland)
• Daniel Ings (Lovesick, The Crown, Black Mirror)
• David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, Extant)
• Christopher Rygh (Vikings: Valhalla)
• Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones, After Life)
• Kaya Scodelario (Skins, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
• Lisa Loven Kongsli (Wonder Woman, Justice League)
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki, The Morning Show, Doctor Who)
• John Macmillan (House of the Dragon, The People We Hate at the Wedding)
• Pippa Bennett-Warner (Sick Note, Gangs of London)
• Ayọ̀ Owóyẹmi-Peters (People, Places & Things on London’s West End)

Simon Stone Is Set To Direct

Simon Stone is set to direct the book-to-screen adaptation, and given his own background in the theater, it makes sense why so much of his cast has stage experience. Stone made his film directorial debut in 2015 when he premiered The Daughter, a drama starring Paul Schneider and Geoffrey Rush, at Toronto International Film Festival. In 2021 he helmed The Dig, another drama, this one based on a historical novel.

The script for The Woman in Cabin 10 was written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, per Variety, with Simon Stone reportedly also taking a pass at it.

The Woman in Cabin 10 Is An Adaptation Of Ruth Ware’s Ninth Novel

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware debuted at No. 4 on the New York Times Bestseller list when it was published in 2016 and maintained its presence amongst the year’s most popular titles. It was a nominee for Goodreads Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller the year it was released. The book is Ware’s ninth crime thriller (she previously published YA fantasy novels under her birth name Ruth Warburton) and is the fourth to be optioned for a screen adaptation.

In addition to the upcoming Netflix movie, the rights to Ruth Ware’s 2015 novel In a Dark, Dark Wood were acquired by New Line Cinema in 2017, per EW, with Reese Witherspoon’s Pacific Standard attached to produce. Ware’s fans may also see The Lying Game (2017) make to the small screen, with Deadline reporting that Entertainment One bought the television rights the year it came out. Finally, Zero Days, from 2023, may also be getting the TV or streaming treatment, with Universal International Studios reportedly acquiring the rights to develop a series.

A Sequel To The Book Is Coming In Summer 2025

Ruth Ware has a lot of coals in the fire, but that’s not slowing down her novel production. The Woman in Suite 11 — a sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10 — is set to hit bookshelves on July 8, 2025. People reports that Ware’s 10th novel picks up 10 years after the events aboard the luxury yacht, with travel journalist Lo receiving an invitation to the opening of a luxury hotel in Switzerland to interview billionaire Marcus Leidmann. Once there, she meets a woman claiming to be Leidmann’s mistress who says her life is in danger. Can Lo suss out the truth and save herself and the woman?

The Movie Was Filmed On A Luxury Super-Yacht Called The Savannah

With all or most of The Woman in Cabin 10 taking place on a luxury yacht, the filming location is pretty important. According to the Dorset Echo, the movie was shot aboard an 83-meter mega-yacht called The Savannah. The award-winning yacht was built in 2015 and can fit up to 12 guests and 24 crew members. Amenities include multiple swimming pools, a spa, a gym and an underwater lounge called the “Nemo Room,” which doubles as a theater.

After reading about the super-yacht that the cast and crew of The Woman in Cabin 10 took over for filming in 2024, that definitely sounds like a trip I want to take — as long as we can guarantee no one goes overboard. Check back for updates on a release date for the film as you continue to check out the other best things to binge on Netflix.

When it comes to looking back at Keira Knightley's best movies so far, it’s tough to top the sexual tension the actress created with James McAvoy in 2007’s Atonement. The movie based on the novel by Ian McEwan had Knightley playing the eldest daughter in a wealthy family, who falls for the son of her family housekeeper. Now, over 15 years later, we’re still talking about the steamy library sex scene they shared, and so is the actress.

While promoting her new series, Black Doves, which is getting marvelous reviews and is currently streaming with a Netflix subscription, Keira Knightley mentioned the famed scene that had her getting hot and heavy with McAvoy’s Robbie Turner in a silk emerald green dress. She said while chatting with The Times:

A lot has seemingly changed when it comes to the making of sex scenes in Hollywood movies. Lately, the use of intimacy coordinators is a regular occurrence on movies and TV shows to make sure the actors are comfortable when it comes to filming sex and nudity.

Knightley called her scene with McAvoy on Atonement her most famous and “best” sex scene because there was a lot of intention that was put into it behind the scenes. Per her words, it sounds like every frame of the scene directed by Joe Wright was shot with intention. As a result, it’s one of those modern classic sex scenes. Check it out:

During Knightley’s interview with The Times, she started off the conversation by talking about how she was spending her first week in London on her own since becoming a mother. She shared that she enjoyed sightseeing and doing things “just for me”. The rare occurrence also awarded her time to catch up on the new series, Rivals, starring David Tennant. She said the “bonking is extraordinary” before sharing her overall thoughts on sex scenes today. As she continued:

Knightley pointed out that male nudity is a lot more prevalent than it used to be in the world of movies and TV shows. That, plus female nudity has actually gone down. According to a 2024 study published by The Economist (via The Independent), findings showed that sex and nudity as a whole in the 250 biggest films of each year has gone down by almost 40% since 2000. That being said, the study noted the sex scenes that do make it to the movies tend to be more graphic than movies from the 20th century.

While sex scenes in the past seemed to be inserted in films willy-nilly, apparently the trend has to do with the use of intimacy coordinators and a focus on sex scenes being “in service of the character and storytelling.” The topic of sex scenes has definitely shifted from Knightley’s standpoint since the time she became famous in her 20s.

Love Actually really is one of the best Christmas movies of all time, giving audiences 10 different love stories and a special twist to how they’re all connected. It’s an inventive, genuine feel-good movie that reminds people how love makes its way into the holiday season. However, director Richard Curtis looks back on what a “catastrophe” making the rom-com was and about learning what “a stalker” Andrew Lincoln’s character has been perceived to be only a few years ago.

The first time you saw Love Actually, the Mark/Juliet storyline made the movie about unrequited love. Mark was the best man at Juliet’s wedding and we find out his cold behavior towards her was “self-preservation” to deny his true feelings for her. He goes to her house with cute cards that scream romance, and she gives him a sweet kiss that allows him to move on. However, audiences construe that memorable scene now as Andrew Lincoln’s character being a bit of a stalker. The Christmas film’s director Richard Curtis told Indiewire he certainly didn’t interpret this shocking trait about Mark until a few years later:

There were plenty of romantic movies in the 2000s/2010s that made stalking less creepy, like the Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey movies. So back in 2003 when Love Actually was made, it was possible that the intentions of those making the rom-com ensemble felt we should have sympathy for Mark that the woman he loves married his friend and his bravery in still telling her how he felt. Plus, we can’t deny that the use of cue cards expressing your love is incredibly cute. It sure inspired Tom Holland to go all Love Actually spreading awareness about the Far From Home premiere contest.

Now that we’re in the 2020s, it’s easy to interpret Andrew Lincoln’s character’s actions as stalker behavior in professing your love to a taken woman. The cast sure felt that way, like the British actor himself saying the sign scene had him portraying a “weird stalker guy.” Keira Knightley, who played Juliet, certainly felt the after-effects of that memorable scene saying that people recreated card gestures for her that she found “creepy and sweet” like she found in the film. But like Richard Curtis previously said about the “top-notch stalking” scene, times have changed, and certain scenes that were viewed as romantic back then are now traits we hope no one follows to woo someone.

One of the greatest things about Love Actually was its best use of an ensemble cast in giving us a variety of love stories that send out heartwarming vibes. However, filming a movie with multiple storylines was no picnic for Richard Curtis:

It’s understandable how confusing it must have been to edit all of those different romantic storylines together – especially since Love Actually isn’t like an anthology movie where it’s a series of short films all rolled up in one. All of the sequences are told in non-linear order so that when they all come together at the end, it makes sense why we’re getting to know this unique cast of characters. But as Richard Curtis said, putting the stories in non-chronological order helps audiences engage with the characters compared to the whole storyline told in one swoop. Putting other stories in between generates suspense. But, I can imagine how mind-rattling that must be to put them together in the editing room and make sure they all flow by the end credits.

Despite Love Actually’s memorable cue card scene thought of by modern audiences as “stalking” and what a pain editing the ensemble Christmas film was, it’s still considered one of the best holiday flicks and movies of the 2000s people still watch. The film’s longstanding popularity still holds true as a sequel came to NBC in 2017 for the fundraising event “Red Nose Day” and still has a cult following. You can add the Golden Globe-nominated movie to your Christmas watchlist available now on your Amazon Prime subscription.

If you look back on Keira Knightley’s first decade of credits as an actress, it’s pretty mind-blowing. Her second movie credit is Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace -- prior to starring in Bend It Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually and Pride & Prejudice all in the matter of three years. The British actress just recently talked about the early days of her career, and she didn't hold back about that time being “very brutal” for her, but she also discussed one major bright side to it.

Keira Knightley’s latest leading role is in the TV show Black Doves, which just dropped for those with a Netflix subscription and has an incredible Rotten Tomatoes score. While promoting the series, she spoke to the Los Angeles Times about her career thus far, including her early days in the business. She recalled her professional beginnings with these words:

During the interview, Knightley was speaking to a question about whether she would allow her kids to act after her own experience. She said they “haven’t expressed an interest”, but she wouldn’t allow them to do anything public until they are grown up because their privacy is very important to her. She emphasized that point by getting raw about the vast amount of attention she received before revealing the silver lining:

Becoming famous as a young woman in the early 2000s was no walk in the park, yet Keira Knightley said she can certainly thank her success to this period in her life. Those early box office hits of hers set her up for stability, and she still benefits from that today. That being said, she didn’t mince words regarding the “very violent, misogynistic atmosphere” she endured as a young star in the public eye in her teens and 20s.

The Imitation Game star credits her ability to get through it to her “very stable family background,” where her close relatives and loved ones “had no skin in the game.” She recalls thinking the way she was treated was not OK at the time, but she felt like she often dealt with gaslighting as “a load of men” told her she “wanted this” and it’s what she deserved. The actress even likened how she was spoken to as “rape speak.”

Keira Knightley has been reflecting quite a bit as of late. Such topics she's revisited are the rumors that she had an eating disorder, how she was “taken down publicly” for starring in Pirates and how her famous Love Actually scene is actually rather “creepy.” Following Knightley’s experiences as a young actress and those of others, one can only hope future generations don’t have to contend with the same treatment. Surely, we can agree that young women should be protected, rather than shamed, while they seek to create their art and secure financial stability.

Depending on where you are in the world, it’s getting colder outside. I for one know that as the temperature continues to dip in my part of the U.S., what remains of the 2024 TV schedule and is set on the 2025 TV schedule is going to be very handy when it comes to finding entertainment in between my movie screenings. While Keira Knightly is mostly known for starring in movies, her new Netflix series Black Doves is something I’ve been keeping an eye on for some time.

And now that the Rotten Tomatoes score has dropped, the result has me even more excited to see this show in action. As of the time of this writing, the Tomatometer has this spy thriller sitting at an impressive 97%. If you know me or my fields of expertise here at CinemaBlend, you can see why I was pretty hyped about this show to begin with.

In Black Doves, Helen (Keira Knightley) is a secret spy that needs to team up with an old colleague (Ben Whishaw) to fight a severe threat. I’m being vague here on purpose, as I don’t want to give too much away. But writer/creator Joe Barton’s six-episode spy thriller also has the advantage of timing on its side, thanks to a competing hit.

As Peacock's Day of the Jackal remake has pitted Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch against each other in an espionage-adjacent thriller, the electrifying streaming hit is on a roll. With December 12th's finale looming, people who are hooked on Black Doves can jump into this very series rather easily.

Those of you worried about investing in this Netflix show for it only to become another member of the Netflix one-season cancellation roster, you needn't worry. Per Netflix UK’s Twitter feed, Black Doves was already announced as renewed for Season 2 in August, before an episode had even released.

As shown by the early critical reaction on Rotten Tomatoes, it looks like that confident move is about to pay off. Provided, of course, viewer opinion follows suit. While we'd all love for fan favorites to automatically last forever, there's always the chance that Black Doves could become the next Shadow and Bone. To this day, that two-season show's cancellation still has fans wanting more.

I’m terribly excited to see Keira Knightley's role in Black Doves return her to grounded dramas. As a fan of her underrated performance in the the 2019 historical drama Official Secrets, I continue to be pleased to see Knightley venturing into spaces one may not expect her in.

Fans of either Ms. Knightley's Pirates of the Caribbean legacy or her version of Pride and Prejudice should take note, as Black Doves is waiting for your eager eyes. You can stream all six episodes of Season 1 through a Netflix subscription, with Season 2 waiting on any production developments or air dates. Let’s just hope that what we know about Bridgerton Season 4’s wait isn’t an indication of how long we’ll have to wait for that promised follow-up.

While we’re entering the final frames of the 2024 movie schedule, the general public is starting to take in holiday movies again. One of my favorites, warts and all, has always been Love Actually, and one of the “warts” in question is definitely that scene involving Andrew Lincoln, Keira Knightley and a bunch of cue cards. It’s so iconic that people have naturally been inspired to recreate it in the presence of the Pirates of the Caribbean alum; and she talked about that mixed blessing while also being brutally honest on filming that classic moment.

During her recent guest spot on The Graham Norton Show (via People), the star of the new Netflix spy series Black Doves recalled her experience making writer/director Richard Curtis’ entry on the list of the best rom-coms ever. And yeah, I can’t help but agree with this assessment:

We’re 21 years removed from the release of this Christmas classic, and it’s no surprise that Lincoln and Keira Knightley’s scene is seen as something sweetly untoward. Not only has Chiwetel Ejiofor shared his Love Actually thoughts on his supposed on-screen best friend, but even Richard Curtis admits the film hasn’t aged well. And Knightley’s comments are definitely indicative of this point, which resonates with me despite my love for the movie.

On one hand, we’ve all been conditioned to love the sorts of “grand sweeping gestures” you’d see in a romantic comedy. And among those seen in Love Actually, we’ve got a young child running through airport security two years after 9/11, the star of The Walking Dead trying to put to rest his unrequited romance with a cue card sendoff and Colin Firth being charmingly English through trying to learn Portuguese. As for the card scene, check it out below:

As you can see, not all romantic gestures are alike, and I think that’s kind of the point of the early 2000s holiday film. But that’s something I could talk about at length for some time, and I’m sure Keira Knightley would find that both annoying and sweet, if she were to read this. The big point is why this 2003 picture has a lot to say about the subject of amour among the holidays, there are pieces of it that people really shouldn’t try to emulate.

Let that be the lesson you take to heart this holiday season, my friends. And, with that, I'll still admit that Love Actually is one of the best movies about unrequited love, even if it doesn’t stick the landing with some of its stories. Should you want to revisit them with fresh eyes, or if you haven’t seen this film at all, grab a Prime Video subscription and prepare to get the shit kicked out of you by love!

Keira Knightley became a global superstar almost overnight thanks to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The movies were massive hits that made Knightley a household name. Except for a brief cameo in the most recent Pirates film, she’s stayed away from franchise movies in general since completing the initial trilogy. Today, the actress says she’s never going back to making movies like that.

Kiera Knightley clearly has a love/hate relationship with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Speaking with The Times, she admits that the movies opened doors for her, but she also says that she was looked down on in the industry because of her involvement in the blockbuster films. Knightley explained…

Knightley has previously talked about the difficult place the Pirates movies put her in, with her character, being the “object of everyone’s lust.” The films made her a celebrity and launched her career, a career that would eventually lead to Oscar nominations and numerous other accolades. They also put her in the public eye, which resulted in a lot of critical reporting, including accusations of an eating disorder.

Despite Keira Knightley’s success in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which she honestly thought would bomb, she is one of those actors who has yet to appear in a major superhero movie or other modern franchise. In an era when it seems that every actor is going to be in the MCU eventually, there are no signs that she will. That is likely all due to her choices because she says following the Pirates movies, she simply has no desire to be involved in that sort of project again. According to Knightley…

The future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise still has a lot of questions, as we don’t know who will be in it or what it will be about. Even Johnny Depp's participation, which seemed sure to not happen, is now in some doubt. But it seems we can pretty definitively say that Keira Knightley won’t be back. Not all her memories of them are good and she has no interest to go back.

Keira Knightley has long been a beloved figure in Hollywood, celebrated for her talent and elegance in rewatchable films like Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. However, with her rise to stardom in the early 2000s came an intense level of public scrutiny towards the young actress. Much of this centered around her physical appearance and physique. Now, the Pirates of the Caribbean star is getting candid about the challenges she faced while navigating persistent rumors about her health, particularly allegations that she had an eating disorder.

The Begin Again star spoke to The Sunday Times, at which time she reflected on starting out in Hollywood and performing in some big movies early on in her career. While she was celebrated for her success at such a young age, this came with a lot of media attention that wasn’t always positive. Rumors about her weight notably accompanied conversations about her tremendous acting talents, and it emotionally affected her, as she explained. The now-39-year-old star said of the eating disorder accusations:

Keira Knightley’s comments highlight the darker side of fame, especially when it’s achieved at such a young age. The Anna Karenina star was younger than some may realize when she broke through as a buzzy new starlet. Pride and Prejudice, Bend It Like Beckham, the first Pirates movie and Love, Actually were made before she turned 20. Knightley was still a teenager when these conversations were happening in the press, which can be incredibly damaging for a young woman. In her interview, she even noted that it was traumatic, as her memory of the situation is hazy because of the trauma.

The situation partly led to the British actress being diagnosed with PTSD, which made her take a year off from acting when she was 22. Thankfully, she had a strong support system around her to help her navigate that time period and the mental health ramifications of fame and media scrutiny at such a young age.

Ultimately, the Colette star returned to acting and continues working today. She also noted in her recent interview that mental health wasn’t as broadly talked about as it is now and how things like rehab and celebrity struggles were often treated as pieces of gossip rather than actual concern. She conveyed that by discussing a situation from years ago, which involved her being asked about Mary-Kate Olsen going to rehab for anorexia-related treatment:

While Keira Knightley didn't have an eating disorder herself, it's evident that public conversations about her body still led to serious mental health ramifications. Her openness to have this conversation is incredibly brave. It also speaks to the desire of stars (particularly young women, in this case) to not have their bodies be topics of public discussion.

Fans can see Keira Knightley in her new thriller series Black Doves, which will be available with a Netflix subscription when it premieres on December 5th, 2024. You can also read up on and seek out Knightley’s best movies.

There are plenty of celebrity fashion looks that have been immortalized on the big screen, but there are also plenty of other famous dresses that never hit a red carpet. Maybe they should have. We've compiled a list of some of the best gowns (and looks) from films that could totally have worked on a red carpet, if given the chance. Here are some of the coolest takes.

Lily James In Cinderella

When I think of a ball gown, to me the 2015 Cinderella look of Lily James is a great example of a dress that’s carpet ready. It’s somehow timeless and modern, it’s an indescribable blue color, and it brought an animated concept to life in just the perfect way. A top-notch stunner for any era.

Emma Watson In Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1

I know you thought I was going to bust out Hermione’s iconic Yule Ball gown look here, even though she’s said the scene was uncomfortable in the past. While it’s a sweet dress for a teenager, it’s the stunning red number Watson’s character wears to Bill and Fleur’s wedding I deem to be most red carpet-worthy.

Jennifer Lopez In Maid In Manhattan

Jennifer Lopez played a maid who borrowed a gown for a night out on the town in Maid in Manhattan. While the flick may not make anyone's list of best rom-coms, the dress is perfect for any best list. It was a peachy pink and very on trend in the early aughts, and its silhouette – and the iconic jewelry she paired it with – would very much still be on point on the carpet today.

Halle Berry In Die Another Day

Halle Berry may be more known for an iconic bikini scene in Die Another Day, but it's her purple dress that really stands out when she's playing Jinx. The color and silhouette are stunning years later, but this is one dress that's also even more brilliant once you see it from behind.

Julia Roberts In Pretty Woman

A far cry from the look we meet her in, Julia Roberts’ Vivian Ward dons a romantic red dress for a night out with Richard Gere’s Edward. The two end up entangling their lives in myriad ways, but the dress is still the most memorable moment from the movie for me.

Margot Robbie In The Wolf Of Wall Street

Black dresses will never go out of fashion, and Margot Robbie looks like a cool woman in a little black dress in Wolf of Wall Street. It's not the only fashionable moment in Scorsese's film, but it's the look I would choose if I were having to go to a fun event. The earrings amp the look up considerably, too. Her whole vibe has me rethinking my wardrobe.

Aubrey Hepburn In Sabrina

One of the most iconic ball gowns of all time, Hepburn’s famous Sabrina dress may never have happened if she hadn’t pushed and befriended designer Givenchy. They made movie history together, and red carpet history in other cases. This dress would not have been out of place there.

Natalie Portman In Black Swan

Black Swan may be one of the best psychological films, but the costume design is also superb, from outfits worn on the stage to everdaywear. The white gown Portman’s character wears from Rodarte has one of the coolest backs I’ve ever seen. Nearly 15 years later, I wish she or someone would bust it out again.

Lady Mary In Downton Abbey

Lady Mary was a bit of a fashionista across the entirety of the Downton Abbey series and its two subsequent movies, but this lush sapphire blue Prussian gown from 2019’s Downton movie stands out as a favorite and also the one that’s most red carpet worthy. Maybe in this day and age I’d drop the gloves, though (even if celebs like Taylor Swift and JLo are bringing gloves back).

Billy Porter In Cinderella (2021)

The Cinderella cast all had amazing outfits, but Billy Porter's fabulous godmother (Fab G) dress in the 2021 Cinderella is all bold colors and lush satin. It's very much a Porter-perfect look that still stands out years later.

Keira Knightley In Atonement

Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement is very much a dress of the era it is portraying, but it’s also the sort of classic look in the perfect color and fabric that could be worn by anyone, in any formal situation, in any time period. If I had to choose a dress to rock to a movie premiere or a wedding or pretty much any occasion, this look from the 2007 (but period) movie would be it.

Charlize Theron Snow White And The Huntsman

Hear me out: Charlize Theron looks so extra in Snow White and the Huntsman but she never looks more extra than when she’s wearing the dress with the extravagant shoulders. Puff sleeves come in and out, but I’m really ready for some avante garde looks to hit the red carpet and this is a great take on a totally unique style.

Kate Hudson In How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days

The early aughts were a prominent time for formalwear gowns dominating movie posters, and the Kate Hudson rom-com era was no exception. The good news is the gold dress she sported opposite Matthew McConaughey still holds up more than 20 years later and is a color she should continue to sport on the red carpet.

Grace Kelly In Rear Window

Grace Kelly had a lot of iconic dresses in a lot of movies that could have fit the criteria of this list, but my favorite has to be her tulle look from Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. It's no wonder the ballet-inspired look has come back in 10 Things I Hate About You and other movies.

Jennifer Lawrence In Catching Fire

The Hunger Games has some solid fashion design, particularly when it comes to characters like Snow, Effie and others living in the capital. But if you really want to make a statement, how about a dress that catches fire and turns into a second fashion statement? Tell me you wouldn’t like to see this on the red carpet!

Kate Winslet In Titanic

When Jack and Rose meet in Titanic, she’s dressed for dinner in a gorgeous red and black beaded dress that would stand out in any crowd. It’s a good thing she catches Jack’s eye in this dress, or Titanic would have been a different movie.

Angela Bassett In Jumping The Broom

Listen: Paula Patton’s character has a lovely wedding dress in Jumping The Broom (not to mention a really cute purple plaid dress at the beginning of the movie), but Angela Bassett is the actress to keep your eye on. As the matriarch in a wealthy family, Bassett’s character is the one with the polished, structured looks I’d feel most confident in on the red carpet.

Rita Hayworth In Gilda

I’m not sure how many people revisit Rita Hayworth’s Gilda these days, but when I think of old Hollywood glamor, her satin gown and matching gloves always come to mind. This was the role that made Hayworth a household name and that dress would still have a moment if it debuted today.

Sonoya Mizuno In Crazy Rich Asians

There's a lot of just epic fashion in 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, but the stellar standout moment is Araminta's wedding, which just has so many great looks from the main cast. At the end of the day, despite the gorgeous setting and shiny, happy people, it's the dress that's to die for.

Vivien Leigh In Gone With The Wind

Leigh gets the opportunity to wear a lot of lovely fabrics in 1939’s Gone with the Wind but none seem as carpet worthy (somewhat ironically) as the dress made out of curtains. It's a memorable color combo and an all-time great movie look.

Hilary Duff In A Cinderella Story

While allegedly Sam is wearing an "old" wedding dress when she shows up in this gorgeous white number, the tulle look is a classic one. Hilary Duff wore the dress with pink Chuck Taylors on the cover for the film, and casualizing a dress with sneakers has become a popular trend in the time since.

Emma Watson In Beauty And The Beast

A Disney ballgown that really hits the mark, Emma Watson’s yellow Belle dress does the animated character justice while fitting the actress like a glove. The color might not work on everyone, but it’s such a perfect fit.

Whitney Houston In The Bodyguard

I think Whitney Houston’s Queen of the Night costume is probably the one we all think about first when we think about The Bodyguard, but it’s her simple black halter dress and beaded hair and bracelet accessories that would really stand out on a red carpet and give something a little special.

Aubrey Hepburn In My Fair Lady

Eliza may have made a bet with Professor Higgins to help her sound like a lady, but it's not hard to believe Audrey Hepburn at least looks like a lady in this dress. The thick, sparkling necklace gives it an additional upgrade. Beautiful.

Ariana DeBose In West Side Story

Ariana DeBose's yellow dress in Spielberg's West Side Story is a direct nod to the 1961 movie musical, but it's an updated take on the look. Originally, Rita Moreno wore a famous lavender dress, but DeBose's is an upgraded color and has a little more swish in it. It's gorgeous and the type of look I hope is popularized again.

Marilyn Monroe In How To Marry A Millionaire

Marilyn Monroe rocked lots of iconic gowns over the years, but the thing I like about this satin dress is the one shoulder strap. It's fitted like a glove and the pink color is fabulous. It's hard to pick one thing about this dress that is most successful. It's just perfect.

Barbara Bach In The Spy Who Loved Me

Plenty of Bond girls have had great outfits over the course of more than 50 years, but when Bond meets Anya Amasova, her navy gown really pops thanks to the Swarovski crystal trim. I love that it's not a flat color, and the leg slit adds a sweet extra touch.

Lana Condor In To All The Boys I've Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You

Lana Condor has a lot of beautiful clothing in the To All The Boys movies. Of all her sweet looks, my favorite is the one in the sequel that Stormy lends her from her impeccable collection. It's vintage perfect, and a lovely color to boot.

Lori Singer In Footloose

Lori Singer’s Ariel dress looks great on her, and it fits the character well. Despite the movie coming out in the eighties, the off-shoulder style comes in and out, and its simple silhouette would be perfect for a low-key movie premiere. As vintage is making a big comeback, perhaps it’s a style we’ll see back on the carpet in coming years.

Rachel Leigh Cook In She’s All That

Laney’s red makeover dress is on-trend now the ‘90s and early aughts are making a comeback. Its spaghetti straps and slim silhouette are simple, but would still really would turn heads on the red carpet today. I love the matching red pumps she pairs the look with as well.

Margaret Avery In The Color Purple

Shug Avery's bright looks in The Color Purple stand out. It may be more of a show dress, but if I had to kick it on the red carpet, I'd want something just as sequiny. Maybe I'd throw in some pearls to boot.

Anne Hathaway In The Idea Of You

A lot of people would say Ms. Hathaway's iconic fashion movies are either The Princess Diaries or The Devil Wears Prada, and while neither are wrong choices, my pick has to go to her character in The Idea of You. When Solene meets Hayes in her beautifully tailored, creamy Fendi number, his head was turned, but so was mine.

Luckily, we're likely to see many more red carpet-worthy looks on the big screen for years to come!

In our lifetimes, the only turn of a century we’ve witnessed is the move from the 1990s to the 2000s. It was an exciting time in the world of Hollywood, between superhero franchises like the Spider-Man and X-Men trilogies making comic books mainstream and adaptations of book series like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter films becoming some of the biggest blockbusters of the decade. But, many of the best movies of the 2000s wouldn’t have been possible without the star power of several actors of the time. 

In celebration of an incredible decade in movies, we chose the quintessential film of 32 actors of the 2000s. Check it out: 

Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl)

Johnny Depp was unquestionably one of the biggest stars of the 2000s after previously making a name for himself throughout the 1990s, most notably with his work with Tim Burton and in the independent film space. Looking back, the No. 1 movie of his was his debut as Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 2003. The actor helped create the best fumbling pirate we’ve ever seen before, going on to make four more of its kind. Fans are still talking about this movie and even writing and signing petitions for the actor to reprise the role. 

Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!)

Nicole Kidman was one of the most in demand actresses of the 2000s, so much so that she did an average of three movies a year across the first half of it. Her greatest movie of the decade is actually the first of them from that time period: Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! The jukebox musical was a commercial success, award season darling and we’ll always go back to her role as Satine. 

Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) 

After Robert Downey Jr. was in the public eye for addiction-related setbacks, he found a way to make a comeback throughout the 2000s with a ton of great movies like Zodiac, Good Night and Good Luck and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. But the best of the best was his turn as Iron Man in 2008. 

Samuel L. Jackson (Unbreakable) 

Samuel L. Jackson was a major fixture of the 1990s, between saying “Hold onto your butts!” in Jurassic Park, starring in Pulp Fiction or starring with Bruce Willis in Die Hard with a Vengeance. His prominence as an actor remained strong in the 2000s with all sorts of roles, including as Mace Windu in Star Wars, but his greatest is in M. Night Shyamalan’s unique superhero film, Unbreakable. 

Scarlett Johansson (Lost In Translation)

Scarlett Johansson was a major star in the 2010s, especially as an Avenger, but she really blossomed into this throughout the 2000s, between movies like Ghost World, Match Point, The Island or The Prestige. The performance that really carried the audience’s love for her throughout the decade was in Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation alongside Bill Murray, where they play unlikely friends who meet in Tokyo. 

 Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)

After Will Smith had a hugely successful decade in the '90s between Bad Boys, Independence Day and being The Fresh Prince, Smith notably took his career a step further in the 2000s. He took on a number of more dramatic roles like Ali and Seven Pounds during this time that deserved the actor an Oscar, but there’s no movie more special than 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness. In the film, he helped tell the true story of a homeless salesman and his son. 

Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde)

“What, like it’s hard?” Of course, the defining Reese Witherspoon movie of the 2000s is Legally Blonde! The 2001 movie continues to be one of the most quotable comedies and Elle Woods is a beloved heroine in modern pop culture. As a whole, Witherspoon was serving throughout the decade by also starring in things like the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line or the rom-coms Sweet Home Alabama and Just Like Heaven.

Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds)

The 2000s was a huge decade of career expansion for Brad Pitt after his heartthrob beginnings in critically-acclaimed '90s flicks such as Interview with a Vampire, Seven, Fight Club. The cream of the crop for a very busy Pitt during this time has to be Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, where he played Lt. Aldo Raine in an alternate history story about World War II. 

Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)

The stardom of Jim Carrey was deep in the fixture of 2000s movies through a ton of big movies like How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Bruce Almighty or Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. But one of the actor’s most dramatic roles, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, stands as his best of the decade. The sci-fi romance imagines a world where one could have a procedure to forget their ex, and asks big questions about memory and love. 

Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) 

Kate Hudson has called Almost Famous “the beginning of everything” for her, and it really was career-wise for the actress. When the movie came out in 2000, it started a massive decade for her that would have her in flicks like How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, The Skeleton Key and Nine among a ton of roles. The Cameron Crowe movie had Hudson playing Penny Lane, a groupie of a '70s band. 

Tom Hanks (Cast Away)

The 2000s marked Tom Hanks third decade as a movie star and it was another solid time for the actor, particularly for more serious roles. While there are a lot of close contenders like Road To Perdition, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal, his greatest movie of that time was Cast Away. Hanks gives an all-time performance as a man who gets stranded on an island alone. We never knew we could cry over a volleyball before the 2000 movie. 

Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!)

Meryl Streep turned 50 in 1999. While that historically has spelled bad news for female actors in Hollywood, Streep proved she could still be one of the biggest stars in her middle-aged years with a ton of performances in the 2000s. From Adaptation to The Hours, The Devil Wear Prada, Lions For Lambs, Doubt, Julie & Julia, Fantastic Mr. Fox and It’s Complicated, this time was an embarrassment of riches for the actress, but if we had to pick one, the iconic Mamma Mia! is the one we’re still singing all the words to. 

Denzel Washington (Training Day)

Denzel Washington’s place as one of the most impressive living actors was apparent in the 2000s through a productive decade full of critically-acclaimed performances. The ultimate Washington movie of the time we’ve chosen is 2001’s Training Day, which in turn earned him his second Oscar win. But, the actor made a ton of great hits during this time like Remember The Titans, Antwone Fisher, Man on Fire, Inside Man, American Gangster and The Great Debaters. 

Tom Cruise (Minority Report) 

After Tom Cruise starred in movies like Rain Man, Top Gun, the first Mission: Impossible and Magnolia in the '80s and '90s, he continued to be a major actor into the 2000s with a ton of fresh roles. His best of the decade is arguably one of his two collaborations with Steven Spielberg, Minority Report. The sci-fi flick has Cruise’s character on the run for a crime he has not committed in an imagined 2054. 

Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich)

Julia Roberts made a string of romantic comedies in the ‘90s, but when the new century came along, she diversified her career with a lot more dramatic roles. Her best movie during this time was in 2000’s Erin Brockovich. The biographical movie from Steven Soderbergh about groundwater contamination also earned Roberts an Oscar for Best Actress. 

Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity) 

It felt like Matt Damon was in all the movies back in the 2000s after he and Ben Affleck wowed Hollywood with Good Will Hunting in 1997. The actor was in 20 movies across this decade, but the best of them was 2002's action thriller The Bourne Identity. He would go on to star in an entire trilogy as Jason Bourne. 

Leonardo DiCaprio (Catch Me If You Can) 

Leonardo DiCaprio became a verified movie star when he said “I’m king of the world!” in 1997’s Titanic. As he moved into his mid-twenties and thirties in the 2000s, he started working closely with Martin Scorsese in a series of movies (Gangs Of New York, The Aviator and The Departed). However, his best comes from Steven Spielberg with Catch Me If You Can. The biographical crime comedy had DiCaprio playing a con man alongside Tom Hanks. 

Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette)

Kirsten Dunst got her start as a child actor in the '90s in movies such as Jumanji and Interview with a Vampire before starring in films like The Virgin Suicides and Drop Dead Gorgeous at the tail end of the '90s. Dunst officially became an adult in the 2000s and made tons of movies, from being Mary-Jane Watson in the Spider-Man movies to being in Bring It On. Her second collaboration with Sofia Coppola as the famed French archduchess is her best work of the decade. 

Adam Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love)

Even though the 2000s didn’t quite top Adam Sandler’s amazing Saturday Night Live star into movie star turn, he was in all sorts of memorable movies in the 2000s. The one that sticks out the most is his collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson with 2002’s Punch-Drunk Love. Unlike his screwball comedies, it’s an earnest rom-com that may not have been popular, but it is unforgettable. 

Will Ferrell - Anchorman

Will Ferrell’s acting career really took off in the 2000s in a massive way. He left Saturday Night Live in 2002 after seven seasons on the sketch show and became one of the funniest Hollywood movie stars. His most hilarious leading role has to be in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, where he played a 1970s news host. 

George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven)

It’s not easy to choose the best George Clooney role of the 2000s given the sheer amount of solid movies he starred in at the time. From his Coen Brothers’ movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? to his Oscar-winning role in Syriana. But, it simply wouldn’t have been the 2000s without Clooney leading the pack in Ocean’s Eleven (and the trilogy it became). He’s effortlessly cool as the master plotter of a casino heist. 

Gwyneth Paltrow (The Royal Tenenbaums) 

Paltrow was in a load of films during this decade, coming off her Oscar win in Shakespeare In Love. But, among a cast including Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston and Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Margot stole the show and therefore finds a spot as her No.1 2000s role. 

Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) 

The 2000s was an iconic moment for Halle Berry, who became Storm in X-Men and starred in Catwoman and as a Bond girl in Die Another Day. Her best role is her Oscar-winning lead in 2001’s Monster’s Ball. The movie is about a widower who unknowingly begins a relationship with a corrections officer who assisted in the execution of her late husband. 

Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) 

Christian Bale started the 2000s as the star of American Psycho and ended it as the star of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies alongside Johnny Depp. But unquestionably, Bale’s performance in one of the most seminal movies of the 2000s, The Dark Knight, is our pick. His second outing as Bruce Wayne/Batman is elevated when Heath Ledger’s haunting Joker struts into Gotham. 

Jennifer Garner (13 Going On 30) 

During the 2000s, Jennifer Garner became famous for starring in the TV show Alias. But at the same time, she established herself as a movie star, too. What caught our hearts the most was her role in 13 Going On 30 alongside Mark Ruffalo. It’s a blast to see the actress play a teen in an adult’s body. 

Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder) 

The 2000s had Ben Stiller becoming a movie star in his own right, between the hilarious Meet The Parents in 2000, to Zoolander and Along Came Polly. His best movie of this era was one he wrote, directed and starred in. Tropic Thunder is a hilarious satirical action comedy with a star-studded cast that we’re still laughing about over a decade later. 

Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) 

After becoming a familiar face for his roles in the '90s, Russell Crowe became an all-time great actor of the 2000s by starring in Gladiator, Cinderella Man, American Gangster, Master and Commander and 3:10 To Yuma. If you’ve seen his performance in 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, you likely never forgot Crowe’s inspired performance as schizophrenic mathematician John Nash. 

Nicolas Cage (Adaptation) 

Nicolas Cage’s third decade in movies was a busy one that had him in more big-budget movies than ever between National Treasure and Ghost Rider, but Spike Jonze’s Adaptation takes the prize as he played twin brothers, one struggling with writer’s block and the other deciding to copy his brother’s ambitions.

Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice) 

Keira Knightley turned fifteen when the 21st century began, but it wasn’t long before she became a movie star – leading movies like Bend it Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean and Love, Actually. The defining Knightley performance of her first decade as a big-screen actress was in the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. 

Jack Black (School of Rock) 

Jack Black had a massive decade in movies in the 2000s, but one cannot forget how perfect he was in the role of Dewey Finn in School of Rock. The 2003 movie allowed the actor to flex his musician muscles and unique charm as he played a failed rock star turned imposter substitute teacher. 

Drew Barrymore (50 First Dates)

Drew Barrymore had the chance to come into her own as a movie star in her adulthood in the 2000s following being a child actor in films like E.T. and Firestarter. She had an awesome decade that included Charlie’s Angels, He’s Just Not That Into You and Whip It, but her role with Adam Sandler as a forgetful love interest remains one of her best and most hilarious (yet heartwarming) roles. 

Hugh Jackman (The Prestige) 

Hugh Jackman started his career in theater in the '90s, but in the 2000s he quickly became a big star. Sure, he became Wolverine for the first time in the X-Men movies, played Van Helsing and starred in Kate & Leopold, but it was particularly special to see his role in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. He’s amazing as a magician who feuds with Christian Bale’s character over the ultimate magic trick. 

Anyone else feeling nostalgic for the decade of the 2000s, now? It was an amazing time for great movies and the movie stars we saw everywhere like the people above. 

We’re still a couple of months away from the holiday season taking complete hold of the world, but when that happens, we can be sure that a lot of people will revisit their favorites by watching some of the best Christmas movies around. Among those will be the modern classic, Love Actually. The film tells numerous beautiful and heartbreaking stories, but one that seems to get more attention every year is the controversial love triangle between characters played by Andrew Lincoln, Keira Knightley, and Chiwetel Eijofor.

Lincoln plays a man in love with his best friend’s new wife. It’s not a position any of us would like to be in, but over the years, many have suggested that even letting the woman of his dreams know his feelings is a terrible thing – and Eijofor agrees. He recently told Comicbook.com that he has even told his co-star to his face that his character is a terrible best friend. He said,

One of the most famous Love Actually scene features Mark (Andrew Lincoln) silently professing his love to Juliet (Kiera Knightley) via cue cards while Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) aloofly believes she is enjoying the performance of some door-to-door carolers. It's intended to be seen as a cathartic moment for Lincoln’s character; now that he has unburdened his soul, he can move forward with his life. But as Ejiofor points out, the film never deals with the aftermath, which surely would have been significant if the husband/best friend ever discovered what happened.

As Love Actually has become a regular holiday season tradition, it seems more and more people are coming around to this way of thinking. Even director Richard Curtis has said that while he didn’t see the problematic nature of the scene originally, he has since come to understand what’s wrong with it and why people take issue. Even Andrew Lincoln has said he was afraid he’d come off like a “creepy stalker” while filming the movie.

To be fair, the "stalker" issue isn't even the only bad part of the relationship. Keira Knightley was only 18 years old when she made the movie, making her barely an adult, and Lincoln is more than a decade older than her. Knightley is closer in age to the children who co-star in the film.

All that being said, Love Actually is great because it tells so many different stories about the different ways love can manifest, and unrequited love is certainly one way that happens.

Most actors don't just come out of the woodwork and immediately get awards attention, box office success and global stardom. Many start out taking bit parts in big movies or supporting character gigs opposite more successful performers. From Academy Award winners like Charlize Theron and Viola Davis to superhero stars like Tom Holland and Ben Affleck, here are 32 now-famous faces you might not remember popped up in famous movies before they were big. 

Matt Damon

In his movie debut, a very young Matt Damon can briefly be seen in 1988's Mystic Pizza as Steamer Windsor, the younger brother of Adam Storke's Charles, the clean-cut, country-club love interest of fun-loving pizzeria waitress Daisy (Julia Roberts). Steamer is present at an awkward dinner where Charles brings Daisy home to meet the family. 

Viola Davis

In the 1998 crime comedy Out of Sight, which is undoubtedly one of Steven Soderbergh's best movies, Viola Davis has a small role playing Moselle Miller, the wife of boxer Maurice "Snoopy" Miller (Don Cheadle). She would later go on to act alongside her Out of Sight co-star Jennifer Lopez in another crime flick, 2015's Lila & Eve.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The 1992 Martin Brest melodrama Scent of a Woman memorably stars Al Pacino as a blind retired colonel and Chris O'Donnell as the prep-school student hired to watch over him, but it also features Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his earliest performances as a fellow student named George Willis, Jr.

Carey Mulligan

The Bennet household is a bustling one in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice, so much so that you might have overlooked that — along with the likes of Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike and Jena Malone — a teenaged Carey Mulligan is one of the Bennet sisters. (It's just one of many movies that prove Mulligan should be a much bigger star.) 

Elijah Wood

Long before he embarked on a quest to destroy the One Ring as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Elijah Wood was a successful child actor in films like The Adventures of Huck Finn, The Good Son, North and Flipper. However, before those starring roles, the pint-sized performer showed up as "Video Game Boy #2" in Back to the Future Part II.

Octavia Spencer

The 1999 Drew Barrymore comedy Never Been Kissed is jam-packed with unexpected actor appearances, from Jessica Alba to James Franco — together they play a dopey but popular high school couple — to Octavia Spencer. The latter plays a coworker of the main character Josie Geller (Barrymore) at the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Timothée Chalamet

With everything that goes on in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar — you know, that whole part about the astronauts who have to travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humankind — viewers may have forgotten that a fresh-faced Timothée Chalamet as Tim, the teen son of Matthew McConaughey's Cooper. 

Brie Larson

Well before she received an Oscar or donned a superhero cape, Captain Marvel star Brie Larson was a tween actress who had a main role in the short-lived WB sitcom Raising Dad. One of her first big-screen gigs, however, was as a popular Six Chick in the 2004 Jennifer Garner favorite 13 Going on 30. (Don't feel too bad, Mark Ruffalo didn't remember her either.) 

Charlize Theron

If you're a fan of The Wonders, you no doubt remember band members Guy (Tom Everett Scott), Lenny (Steve Zahn), Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) and the bass player (Ethan Embry). However, you may not so readily remember that Charlize Theron is also in That Thing You Do!, as Guy's ex-girlfriend Tina, who leaves him for her dentist. 

Joe Manganiello 

Before making the ladies sweat in the Magic Mike franchise, Joe Manganiello was making Peter Parker sweat for an entirely different reason in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film series, playing the high-school bully Flash Thompson. His character dated Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane before she ended up with Spidey himself (Tobey Maguire). 

Seth Rogen

The titular teen protagonist of Donnie Darko (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) doesn't just have to deal with those disturbing visions of a rabbit-costumed man named Frank. He also has to deal with a pair of high school bullies, one of whom is played by Seth Rogen in his first ever movie appearance. 

Amy Adams

The Steven Spielberg-directed crime comedy Catch Me If You Can featured several now-well-known actresses before they were household names, including Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks and Amy Adams. The latter acted opposite Leonardo DiCaprio (played teenage con artist Frank Abagnale Jr.) as Brenda Strong, a young hospital worker who falls for Frank and his fraud. 

Keira Knightley

Given her uncanny resemblance to Natalie Portman, it's only fitting that a teenage Keira Knightley appeared as Sabé, a handmaiden and royal decoy for Portman's Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Even Knightley herself could use a reminder about who she played in the space trilogy!

Michael Fassbender

Years before memorable film roles in Inglourious Basterds, Jane Eyre, the X-Men movies and his Oscar-nominated turn in Shame, Michael Fassbender made his film debut in the 2006 action epic 300. He played the character of Stelios, a young, spirited and highly skilled Spartan soldier fighting under Gerard Butler's King Leonidas.

Sandra Oh

"Gupta? Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. The queen is coming!" It's one of the most memorable lines uttered in The Princess Diaries and it's said by none other than a pre-Grey's Anatomy Sandra Oh. Joining Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews in the beloved cast, Oh plays the humorous vice principal at Mia Thermopolis's school. 

Margot Robbie

Before her big breakout in The Wolf of Wall Street — and even longer before she painted the world pink with the phenomenon that is Barbie — rom-com fans got their first introduction to Margot in the 2013 romantic dramedy About Time. Robbie plays Charlotte, a woman that the main character Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) is crushing on before he meets his true love, Mary (played by Rachel McAdams).

Joaquin Phoenix

The 1989 Ron Howard-directed comedy Parenthood already has a stacked cast — Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Keanu Reeves, Mary Steenburgen and Dianne Wiest, to name a few — before you even remember that one of the youngins in the movie is played by a teenage Joaquin Phoenix, then going by his birth name Leaf.

Samuel L. Jackson

It's hard to remember a time when Samuel L. Jackson wasn't a major movie star, but in the 1970s and '80s, the iconic actor was racking up bit parts in big titles, including Eddie Murphy's Coming to America. In the 1988 rom-com, Jackson plays a character known as "Hold-Up Man," an armed robber who has held up the local fast-food restaurant called McDowell's five times. 

Kristen Stewart

Though she has been acting professionally since grade school, Kristen Stewart didn't become a global star until she played moody teen Bella Swan in 2008's vampire romance Twilight. But years before that, she played a memorable part in the 2002 David Fincher thriller Panic Room, appearing opposite Jodie Foster as her character's daughter. 

Dakota Johnson

\Dakota Johnson had her big Hollywood breakthrough leading a beloved book-to-film adaptation, as Anastasia Steele in the erotic Fifty Shades film series. But she actually showed up in another huge movie five years earlier: 2010's The Social Network, as a college coed who spends the night with Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake. 

Gabrielle Union

Before she led the Clovers to cheer competition victory in 2000's Bring It On, Gabrielle Union was given supporting roles in '90s teen favorites like 10 Things I Hate About You and She's All That. The latter was actually her film debut, in which she appeared as popular girl Katie, a member of Zack Siler's (Freddie Prinze Jr.) friend group. 

Nicolas Cage

Technically, Nicolas Cage wasn't in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But Nicolas Coppola was — when he made his feature film acting debut in the 1982 coming-of-age comedy, the actor was still going by his birth name. However, the Oscar-winning star would later change his name professionally to avoid nepotism allegations. (He is, of course, the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, and a cousin of director Sofia Coppola and actor Jason Schwartzman.)

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp memorably made his big-screen debut in the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, but movie fans might not remember that a short while later, he also appeared in Oliver Stone's war film Platoon as a young soldier fighting in the Vietnam War alongside the likes of Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Forest Whitaker and Kevin Dillon. 

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman has had a prolific acting career ever since she was a tween, starting from when she starred as the young protégée of a hitman in the 1994 action film Léon: The Professional at only twelve years old. Though that was an instantly memorable introduction to the performer, you might have forgotten that only a year later, she worked alongside screen greats like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the Michael Mann-directed classic, Heat. 

Tom Holland

He's most famous for spinning webs as Spider-Man but long before that, Tom Holland was making his film debut (and making audiences weep) in the 2012 disaster drama The Impossible, as a young boy desperately trying to reunite with his family following a horrific tsunami. 

Vince Vaughn

The heartwarming 1993 sports drama Rudy — about a young man (Sean Astin) who dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame — features an ironic pair of film-acting debuts. It was the first movie roles of both Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, playing teaching assistant D-Bob and tailback Jamie O'Hara, respectively. That duo would famously go on to star in the 1996 buddy comedy Swingers. 

Ryan Gosling

Another early football role for a Hollywood heavyweight, a young Ryan Gosling already had some big TV gigs under his belt (The Mickey Mouse Club, Young Hercules) before he appeared as Alan Bosley, the wiry cornerback of T. C. Williams High School's football team in Remember the Titans. And if you remember that locker-room singalong, you know the little Goose had charisma even then!

Mila Kunis

Yes, that is a mini Mila Kunis in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves — she played a friend of Wayne Szalinski's (Rick Moranis) niece, who throws a house party once it seems like all of the grown-ups have left for the evening. (Instead, the adults have been accidentally zapped to microscopic proportions, naturally.) 

Daniel Craig

Before he was Bond, James Bond, Daniel Craig was Ballard, John Ballard, in the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth. The British actor portrayed a priest-slash-assassin who conspired with the Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I (played by Cate Blanchett) from the throne. Of course, Bond would never treat the Queen of England that way!

Jake Gyllenhaal

Given that filmmaking is a family business for Jake Gyllenhaal — he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger bro of the great actress Maggie Gyllenhaal — it's not a shock that the actor started young. He made his film debut at age ten in 1991's City Slickers, playing the son of Billy Crystal's character Mitch Robbins. 

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington is best known for playing crisis management expert Olivia Pope in the ABC drama series Scandal, but more than a decade earlier, she showed off her fix-it skills as Chenille Reynolds in Save the Last Dance, helping Julia Stiles's character Sara better integrate into their South Side high school and hip-hop culture at large. 

Ben Affleck

Like his famous best friend Matt Damon, Ben Affleck also began his acting career as a child and while eagle-eyed moviegoers no doubt remember spotting him in early-'90s films like School Ties and Dazed and Confused, they may have forgotten his uncredited early cameos, such as "Basketball Player 10" in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. 

Natalie Portman has had a longstanding film career, and has become a household name from her work in franchises like Star Wars and Thor, as well as her indie film work in Black Swan and this year’s May December. No matter how established, Portman still is sometimes mistaken for another famous actress. While I can’t imagine not recognizing Portman, I totally see the resemblance between her and another well-established actress. 

Portman was recently featured in the Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair alongside other A-Listers like Bradley Cooper and Pedro Pascal. During the interview for the publication, the magazine had the actors ask each other questions, including if they get recognized on the street and mistaken for someone else. Colman Domingo said that one time he was mistaken for Idris Elba, which I personally can’t see. However, when Portman mentioned being mistaken for Keira Knightley, I totally understood. It didn’t seem to bother the Jackie actress, and she takes it as a compliment. She said: 

This hasn’t been the only time the resemblance between the two actors has been pointed out. Keira Knightley played the double for Natalie Portman’s character in Star Wars Episode 1: A Phantom Menace. In the film, Knightley’s "Sabe" is used as a decoy to protect the real Queen of Naboo, Padme, played by Portman. With all the makeup Portman had to wear in that film, the made-up Knightly was almost indistinguishable from the real Padme Amidala. It’s been a while since they starred in a movie together, and Knightley even admitted to forgetting her role within Star Wars, so I think they are overdue for another collaboration. 

Portman isn’t the only actor who has been wrongly recognized. Just recently The Hollywood Reporter mistook Justin Hartley for Glen Powell at the Golden Globes. Mark Wahlberg has also talked about being called Matt Damon fairly often, and tries to be as nice as possible when he does. These are all pretty flattering doppelgangers, so I doubt the mistakes are ever taken maliciously. I definitely see the resemblance between all of these stars, but Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley are the most uncanny. 

It’s about time that these two use this resemblance to their advantage. I could totally see them playing sisters in a Joe Wright period drama Knightley is synonymous with, or even a cerebral surrealist indie film Natalie Portman is often drawn to. They are both wonderful actresses, but with such similar looks, it wouldn’t take a lot of acting to convince audiences that these two could be related. Portman has a number of upcoming projects coming down the pike, but not trying to make something happen with Knightley soon feels like a missed opportunity. 

It may be a while before seeing Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley on screen together, even if it is a possibility. In the meantime, fans can check out Portman in May December, which is currently streaming for Netflix subscribers. You can also see Keira Knightly in her latest film, The Boston Strangler, which is also now streaming with a Hulu subscription. 

It sounds like the behind-the-scenes experience of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies was just as rowdy and swashbuckling as what was going on onscreen. Though the pirate-focused franchise is considered some of Keira Knightley's best movies, her memories from filming the big-budget action movies are far less treasures, and that included getting stranded on a desert island.

The British actress — who portrayed Elizabeth Swann in 2003's The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2006's Dead Man's Chest, 2007's At World's End and 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales — not only had to deal with her character's tight period corsets but also nearly being stranded on a deserted island during production on Black Pearl. 

In a 2003 interview with Spin, Knightley detailed the night shoot when a rubber speedboat she was riding in got stuck on a reef, leaving her waiting for rescue in "waist-deep" water for 45 minutes:

Ironically, in the film, her character Elizabeth — who the actress describes in the interview as "a damsel in distress who ends up a wench, a 21-st century rebel living in an 18th-century world"— would also wind up marooned on a deserted island with Jack Sparrow, the irreverent pirate famously played by Johnny Depp. 

Given the harrowing reef rescue, though, it's not exactly surprising that Knightley wouldn't be eager to return for more Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The actress's brief return to the Disney franchise in 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, alongside her onscreen husband Orlando Bloom, would allegedly be Knightley's last appearance as Swann, as she told ET earlier this year: 

Thankfully, it looks like Knightley has since forgotten the more distressing moments of filming the Pirates films. She told the outlet that there's "not much" she remembers from the first film now, two decades after it was released, since she was a mere teenager while making those movies. 

But she does note how important The Curse of the Black Pearl was in kicking off her lengthy acting career, saying that the blockbuster action flick "launched [her] out of a rocket:"

So, it's highly unlike that we'll be seeing Keira Knightley back as Elizabeth Swann anytime soon, but you can stream the Pirates movies with a Disney+ subscription. And you can see the English star as Loretta McLaughlin in the recent historical crime drama, Boston Strangler, which is available to stream with a Hulu subscription. After surviving being stranded on a desert island, tracking down a serial killer sounds like a walk in the park!

A lot of great speeches come from sports movies, but that's not the only genre that can make us want to run through walls. Some speeches are so good it has us rooting for the bad guys. Most are by the good guys though, and we'll follow those good guys anywhere. Here is our list of the most inspiring speeches in film history. 

Independence Day - President Witmore

President Thomas J. Whitmore's (Bill Pullman) speech in Independence Day has become one of the most iconic film moments of the last 50 years. While the movie can be polarizing, some people can't get enough of it, others hope to never see it again. Still, it's hard to find anyone who truly hates the speech and that moment in the film. If you ever find yourself fighting against annihilation by a bunch of E.T.s, this is the speech for you. 

The Hunt For Red October - Captain Ramius

If you thought you could never get fired up about the Soviet Union picking a fight on the United States during the Cold War, check it out. When Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) tells his crew that the salad days of the Cold War are not behind them, and the United States will "tremble again - at the sound of our silence," it makes you want to stand up and fight for communism. At least for a brief moment. 

Any Given Sunday (Coach D'Amato)

It's used at almost every professional football game in America, almost every Sunday, because in Any Given Sunday, Coach D'Amato implores his team and the rest of us to claw for every inch we can. It might not be Pacino's most award-winning role, but that scene... that scene is some of his finest and most enduring work. 

Gladiator (Maximus)

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius." If those words don't immediately fire you up, it's time to check for a pulse. Audiences spend most of Gladiator waiting for Maximus (Russell Crowe) to finally get his revenge on that conniving Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and finally we get it. Maximus will have his vengeance, in this life or the next.

Friday Night Lights (Coach Gaines)

In Friday Night Lights, Coach Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) tells us how to be perfect. It has nothing to do with the final score, or winning. It's about how we treat each other and ourselves. It's about telling the truth and not letting anyone down. Live in the moment, "with joy in your heart." That's what makes us perfect. The swelling music by Explosions in the Sky only adds to the drama of the moment. 

While he doesn't say "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose," (that comes from the TV show), he does mention his clear eyes and his full heart and afterward, none of us lose. 

Henry V (Henry V)

It's not just one of the most inspiring speeches in film history, it's one of the most famous speeches in human history. When William Shakespeare wrote the words to the famous St. Crispin's Day Speech in Henry V, he could not have known that it would be used for centuries afterward to inspire men. For we few, we lucky few, we can watch the speech brilliantly delivered by Kenneth Branagh in one of his finest roles, in his film version from 1989. 

Animal House (Bluto)

"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" Of course it wasn't! Bluto (John Belushi) does a lot to inspire the brothers of the Delta house in Animal House but nothing more so than his speech after "Wormer dropped the big one" and suspended the fraternity. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, the men of Delta are inspired to have the best time of their lives, and Wormer? He's a dead man! Marmalard? Dead! Niedermeyer...

Gone With The Wind (Scarlett O'Hara)

Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) is not the most sympathetic movie character of all time. In fact, she ranks close to the bottom in that category, but you can't deny the power of her speech just before the end of the first part of the movie. Her family's plantation, Tara, is in shambles, her mother is dead, and her father has lost his mind. When all hope is lost, she promises herself she will fix it, and she will "never be hungry again."

Barbie (Gloria)

It's truly a show-stopping moment in Barbie when Gloria (America Ferrera) lays out what it's like to be a woman in today's world. The entire essence of the movie's message is summed up in that brilliant speech. It makes everyone want to jump up on their feet and applaud. It's a moment that will forever live in cinema history. 

Good Will Hunting (Sean Maguire)

It's not just the words that matter. It takes a special actor to deliver a speech like Sean Maguire's in Good Will Hunting. Thankfully there was the great Robin Williams. In a speech that is meant to devastate and inspire Will (Matt Damon), Williams tells him everything he is doing wrong but manages to show him how he can fix it, and open up an entirely new world for himself. It's cutting and loving. And brilliant. "Your move, chief."

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (Aragorn)

Like so many other battle scenes in movies, Aragorn's (Viggo Mortensen) speech at the Black Gates in Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King has us willing to fight to the death with our fellow soldiers. There is nothing like a leader riding back and forth on horse inspiring his troops. 

Braveheart (William Wallace)

Always remember, that no matter how badly you are treated by a tyrannical English king, he can never take your freedom! William Wallace (Mel Gibson) brilliantly reminds us of that in Braveheart. While it's easy to mock the poor history telling in the movie (and we argue if it was really one of the best movies of 1995), you can never say that the speech Wallace gives before the biggest battle in the movie won't have you ready to take on the entire British Empire. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Elizabeth)

Speeches made by leaders to inspire men in battle aren't unique in movies. What makes the speech unique in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is that the speech is made by a woman. Elizabeth's (Keira Knightly) speech isn't a lot different than a lot of its ilk, but it's more inspiring to hear it from a woman because we've never heard that before. So hoist the colors! 

Stripes (John Winger)

John Winger (Bill Murray) is the biggest misfit in a platoon filled with them in Stripes. He's the least likely to inspire the rest with a razzle-dazzle speech firing them up, yet that's exactly what he does before their graduation from boot camp. Bill Murray has some of the best lines in movie history, and this speech is near the top of them. 

Miracle (Herb Brooks)

"Great moments are born from great opportunity." That is something we can all stand to remember. In Miracle, Herb Brooks inspires his rag-tag team of college kids to defeat maybe the greatest hockey team ever assembled in the Soviet National Team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. The movie is based on a true story and while it's impossible to know exactly with the real Brooks said, if it was anywhere close to what Russell delivers, it's no surprise we all believe in miracles today. 

Rocky IV (Rocky Balboa)

The Cold War inspired a lot of movies, even sports movies like Rocky IV. Early in the Rocky series, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) wasn't a man of many words, but at the end of Rocky IV, he finds some of the most inspiring words of the whole series, imploring all of us to get along, despite our differences. 

Swingers (Trent)

What's a good friend if not someone to pep you up when you're feeling low? That's exactly who Trent (Vince Vaughn) is to Mike (Jon Favreau) in Swingers. Not only does he take him to Vegas for a night of fun, on the way home, after the trip doesn't pep Mike up as much as it should, Trent explains exactly why Mike is so money, and he doesn't even know it. 

Network (Howard Beale)

It's scary just how much a movie like Network, released almost 50 years ago is still so relevant. We don't need Howard Beale (Peter Finch) to tell us just how bad things are, we just need to him to inspire us to go to the window, open the window and yell to the world that we're not going to take it anymore! 

The Goonies (Mikey)

"The Goonies never say die!" When all seems lost in the Goonies quest to rescue their neighborhood from developers, Mikey (Sean Astin) reminds them all exactly how far they've come in the quest for One-Eyed Willie's gold. We don't get a lot of inspirational speeches from kids, but when we do, we love them. 

Clueless (Cher)

When Cher (Alicia Silverstone) compares her garden party to a refugee crisis, your inclination is to think she's an airhead. But like so many before and after her, there is kind of a subtle brilliance to her thought process. She takes what she knows and uses that to find the emotion we should all feel for her side of the argument. 

Milk (Harvey Milk)

Milk, based on the true story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), is inspiring in and of itself, but Milk's speech on the steps of San Fransisco City Hall at the Gay Pride Rally is a masterpiece. 

Troy (Achilles)

In another classic example of a military leader inspiring his troops, Achilles' (Brad Pitt) speech reminding his men that they are lions, is enough to get anyone to storm the beaches of Troy. There's a reason the story has been told for thousands of years. 

Norma Rae (Norma Rae)

The best thing about Norma Rae's (Sally Field, in one of her best roles) speech in Norma Rae is that the most important word isn't spoken at all. She simply holds up a sign that says "Union" in the middle of her sweatshop. That's all she needs to "say" to get everyone in the textile mill to agree. It's brilliant. 

We Are Marshall (Jack Lengyel)

We Are Marshall tells the tragic and heroic story of the 1971 Marshall University football team. At the end of the 1970 season, a plane carrying most of the team and its coaches crashed in North Carolina. Before the start of the next season, the new coach, Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) makes a speech at a memorial for some of the lost players and what he says about never forgetting the past but looking to the future will bring a tear to anyone's eyes.

Legally Blonde (Elle Woods)

More than 20 years after the first Legally Blonde movie was released Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) continues to inspire us. With an address like the one she makes at the end of the movie, as she's graduating, it's easy to see why. "You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself."

Avengers: Endgame (Captain America)

In a room full of superheroes, leave it to Captain America to make the hype speech. In Avengers: Endgame, that's exactly when Cap (Chris Evans) psyches the cadre up for their mission to reverse the Snap. "Whatever it takes."

Hoosiers (Norman Dale)

When tiny Hickman High School makes it to the Indiana State Basketball Finals, they are facing a huge school, in a huge arena. Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) takes only a minute or so to lay out what will make them successful, and a minute is all he needs. It's why Hoosiers one of the best sports movies ever made. 

Rudy (Rudy)

The speech in Rudy is a little different. Rudy really has no audience, save for one person, but that doesn't stop him from delivering a first-rate speech that any Notre Dame alum gets goosebumps when they hear it, including the parts he lifted from the great Knute Rockne.

Juno (Mac MacGuff)

When Juno MacGuff (Elliot Page) is wondering what her future holds, her father Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons) explains simply and succinctly, "The best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are." We couldn't have said it better ourselves. 

Stand And Deliver (Jaime Escalante) 

Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) is a no-nonsense math teacher who is determined to get the most from his students. He decides he needs to raise the level of expectations inside and outside of the classroom and he starts by breaking down when he is going to be so hard on his students, to get the most out of them. All they need is ganas – motivation. 

Rocky Balboa (Rocky)

Leave it to Rocky to make a speech in 2006's Rocky Balboa meant to inspire his son to inspire all of us together. It's pure Rocky, leave it all out, don't accept things you don't like, and never make excuses, no matter how hard it is. And it seems like this was advice he took to heart when it became a struggle to make the film. 

300 (Dilios)

Dilios (David Wenham) fires up the Spartans like no other person could. It's truly one of the great hype speeches in film history. It's exactly what you would expect from a civilization of warriors. Whether it really happened or not is irrelevant. The message is the same, "Remember us."

From sports to war, love to education, and beyond, a great speech raises goosebumps like nothing else in film can. These examples are some of the best speeches we've used to inspire us. 

It's that season yet again: Love Actually season. While the 2003 Richard Curtis flick is considered one of the best romantic comedies of all time—not to mention a Christmas classic (it's one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix, so you can get your annual fix with a Netflix subscription)—one storyline has been deemed decidedly not romantic by fans of the movie, but it took awhile for the director to figure it out.

No, we don't mean Martin Freeman and that strange porno subplot (though we did rank John and Judy's story as the least enjoyable Love Actually couple)—we're talking about that messiness between Mark (Andrew Lincoln) and Juliet (Kiera Knightley), his best friend's wife.  

Decades-old spoilers ahead! If you remember, the film features the very joyful, slightly over-the-top nuptials between Knightley's Juliet and Chiwetel Ejiofor's Peter, with Mark as his best man. That's all well and good, except Mark has been harboring secret feelings for his best bud's new bride, a discovery that Juliet shockingly makes after watching Mark's footage of their wedding.

Mark ends up revealing his true feelings to Juliet via that now-very famous scene in which he writes out his romantic wishes on cue cards ("To me, you are perfect, and my wasted heart will love you…" and so on), resulting in a chaste but illicit smooch between the pair. "Enough, enough now," Mark says afterwards, suggesting that he's putting his feelings aside for the good of his friendship, and we pop back up with the trio in the end all seemingly happy and platonic.

Now, after two decades, director Richard Curtis has admitted he realizes the Mark-and-Juliet storyline was actually problematic. Speaking with Collider during a press junket on the 4K release of Love Actually, the filmmaker said that Lincoln's character was "a little too weird" in comparison with the rest of the film, but it took someone asking for an interview on the topic for him to realize how the scene comes off. 

Still, it's not the first time that Curtis has questioned the cue-card sequence. Per The Sunday Times, a copy of the Love Actually script—which was being auctioned off for charity—had been marked up by the director revealing doubts about the scene. 

As for the cast themselves, Lincoln and Knightley's co-star Martine McCutcheon, who played the role of Natalie in the film, doesn't think that Mark's romantic gesture was "creepy." 

Do you agree? Check out the famous scene below: 

To me, it's not perfect.

Did you know that Keira Knightley filmed some of her best movies before she turned 20? The British actress shot her Star Wars: Episode I role, Bend It Like Beckham, the first Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride & Prejudice and Love Actually all before entering her twenties. Looking back, the casting director of the latter Christmas classic admits in retrospect that the actress was too young to play her famed role of Juliet. 

As you may recall, in 2003’s Love Actually, Keira Knightley plays a newly married young woman to Chiwetel Ejifor’s Peter. As the movie progresses, we learn that Peter’s best man Mark, played by Andrew Lincoln, is secretly in love with Juliet and makes it known through a romantic moment involving a boombox and cue cards. Ejiofor is eight years older than Knightley, whilst Lincoln is 12 years older than her. Here’s what Love Actually casting director Fiona Weir recently said about the subject: 

In an interview with The Messenger, Weir shared her thoughts on Knightley playing her Love Actually role at the age of 18. Looking back, the casting director said the actress was “too young” for the part, but she won over director Richard Curtis due to her “open, joyous quality” that the filmmaker wanted for the role of Juliet. Weir thinks the casting “worked” and remains believable as the movie celebrates its 20-year anniversary. 

Knightley had the opportunity to be part of one of the most iconic scenes in modern movie history with the casting, this, of course, referring to the moment Andrew Lincoln’s Mark shows up outside her door with cue cards expressing his love for her. (The movie is currently available to stream with a Netflix subscription.) Knightley is perhaps believably older than 18 in the movie, but in reality, it’s rather unlikely an 18-year-old in this day and age would be newly married, and the actress was among some of the youngest cast members in Love Actually. 

Knightley made Love Actually just ahead of the actress heading off to the Caribbean to film the first entry of Disney’s Pirates franchise, The Curse of the Black Pearl. Weir shared that the House of Mouse “wanted to whisk her off,” but the Love Actually production did “quite a bit of clever scheduling” to make sure she could play Juliet before going off to co-star opposite Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in the 2003 hit. 

As the Christmas season soon kicks off, you can check out the 2023 Christmas movie schedule and read up on Keira Knightley’s next Christmas-themed project, Netflix’s Black Doves. 

Get ready to dive back into the world of spies, because Black Doves Season 2 is happening.

We have lived in a world that is filled with excellent spy shows, and now Black Doves has joined that list with a fun story and incredible action sequences that earned it a Season 2 renewal. It was one of the most popular Netflix shows for a time – until it got knocked down like all shows do, but now it’s going to continue the story when the second season comes along.

But, what could it be about? Here is what we know so far – and what you should know, too.

What Is The Black Doves Release Date?

At the time of updating this, in March 2025, there is no set premiere date for Black Doves Season 2. Netflix Tudum did confirm the second season is happening, but we do not have an idea of when it will come out on one of the best streaming platforms. I personally don’t think there’s even a chance it’ll come out as part of the 2025 TV schedule, since filming has not even begun – as we’ll get into below.

The Black Doves Season 2 Cast

While nothing has been confirmed yet regarding the cast for Black Doves Season 2, here is who we can expect to see again:

• Keira Knightley as Helen Webb (née Dawson)
• Ben Whishaw as Sam Young
• Sarah Lancashire as Reed
• Andrew Buchan as Wallace Webb
• Andrew Koji as Jason Davies
• Omari Douglas as Michael

I’m sure that as time goes on, we’ll get more updates regarding the cast - as well as any new cast members that join.

What Is Black Doves Season 2 About?

While plot details aren’t confirmed, we do have some idea of where the creator, Joe Barton, wants the show to go from an interview that he did with The Hollywood Reporter in December 2024. A major thing is that he wishes for Michael (Omari Douglas), Sam’s ex-boyfriend, to come back and shake things up a bit:

He also commented that while he would love for the show to always be a “Christmas” series, Season 2 will most likely not take place around the holidays:

The one thing that felt like it was missing from Black Doves as a spy show was sort of the person who was overseeing everything and always one step ahead – the big villain, if you will. Barton commented on this, saying that in Season 2, that’s one of his goals – to make sure Helen and Sam face someone like that:

Now all we can do is wait to see what happens next – and what kind of big bad there will be.

Filming Will Not Begin For Some Time

I’m sure it’s not too surprising considering the show only just came out in December 2024, but filming for Black Doves Season 2 is a ways out. In an interview that Ben Whishaw did with Collider in January 2025, he admitted that they were months away from shooting, at least six or seven, because the story hasn’t been completely written yet.

With that in mind, it’ll be some time before we get a filming update.

What are you excited about the most when it comes to Black Doves Season 2? I need to watch all of Keira Knightley's best movies to bide my time for it – or until we at least get more updates.

The first time I watched 2005’s Pride & Prejudice I didn’t like it at all. I knew it was considered one of the best romantic movies, and I knew people couldn’t get enough of Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. However, when I watched it the first time, I didn’t believe in their love, I was thrown off by the Regency-era dialogue, and I had a tough time comprehending the film as a whole. However, after years of my friends being confused about my opinion, and now that I've watched shows and movies that have similar plots to the Jane Austen classic, I decided to rewatch Pride & Prejudice. I’m pleased to report that I was totally wrong about my original opinions: this movie is a masterpiece. 

The Cast Of Pride & Prejudice Is Top Tier (And I Didn’t Realize That The First Time)

The first time I watched Pride & Prejudice, I really only knew who Keira Knightley and Donald Sutherland were. I wasn’t aware of the many talents of actors like Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Reilly, specifically, outside of this film.

Since my first viewing, I have been exposed to the phenomenally menacing and funny performance Macfadyen gives as Tom Wambsgans in Succession. There’s a reason that man won an Emmy for that show, as the entire cast of Succession are knockouts. So, the fact that he’s one of the big highlights of that ensemble says a lot. Going into Pride & Prejudice knowing about his talent made a massive difference. It also showed off his range as an actor, because it's not very often you see one character that gives you the ick and another that makes you swoon played by the same person, and you can fully believe both of them. 

Kelly Reilly also stood out as a brilliant addition to the Pride & Prejudice ensemble the second time around. I’ve become a fan of the Yellowstone cast, and her performance as Beth Dutton is one of the best in the show. She’s fiery and unapologetic in the modern Western, and her character in the Regency drama had a similar vibe, albeit more subdued. 

Overall, I went into my second viewing with a much better understanding of the ensemble’s talents, and because of that, I had a respect for them from the jump that I didn’t necessarily have the first time. 

Elizabeth Is So Strong-Willed, And I Love It

There’s a reason Pride & Prejudice is considered one of Keira Knightley’s best movies, and it’s because she delivers such a fantastic performance of a classic character who is strong-willed, silly and admirably independent. Seeing such a passionate and self-assured woman in the Regency film was really empowering to me, and I understand why everyone loves her, I do too.

One scene that showed Elizabeth’s strong will so well was the confrontation she had with Lady Catherine. As Judi Dench’s character tore into the Bennet sister about her and her family, Knightley’s character quickly stood up for herself, her family and her beliefs. When she told the older woman “You may ask a question which I may choose not to answer,” I wanted to stand up and clap. Her self-assuredness and unwillingness to be spoken down to is admirable, and I loved it dearly.

I Get Why Every Girl Fawns Over Mr. Darcy. He’s A Sweetheart!

When Mr. Darcy said “I love, I love…I love you,” my knees buckled and I was ready to accept his hand in marriage, and I don’t even know the guy. 

The first time I watched the film I didn’t get the hype around Matthew Macfadyen’s character, but boy did I get it this time. He’s sweet and caring, and he shows his affection through acts of service and shy confessions of love. The way he helped the Bennets (even though it was an odd way to go about helping) was chivalrous, and his unapologetic love for Elizabeth is the sweetest thing ever. 

Like all the other girlies, I too love Mr. Darcy now. 

The Way Pride & Prejudice Is Shot Shows You The Tension Between Elizabeth And Mr. Darcy

One of the major reasons Pride & Prejudice became one of the greatest enemies-to-lovers movies is how it built the tension between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. While the two actors gave phenomenal performances that sparked my interest in the duo, it was Roman Osin’s cinematography that sold me on them as two people longing to be together but not knowing how to say it. 

From that hand moment by the carriage to the way the focus shifts when the couple is looking at each other, the subtle camera movements are what hammer home the duo’s romantic tension. 

A primary example of this was when Elizabeth found out Mr. Darcy had instigated Jane and Bingley’s break-up. As she’s sitting in the church learning the news, his name is never uttered, but the camera is focused on him as she realizes what has happened. Once she has this epiphany she gasps and the focus comes back to her. It’s a gorgeous way to show the characters’ thoughts without telling the audience exactly what they’re thinking. And in the end, all these little moments of longing and tension expertly caught on camera culminate in the epic confession of love toward the end of the film. 

Big Shout Out To Fire Island And Bridgerton For Preparing Me For This Movie 

I can’t stress enough how much Fire Island and Bridgerton helped prepare me for my rewatch of Pride & Prejudice. 

Fire Island, which is an underrated and amazing comedy, is a retelling of Jane Austen’s story. It follows a group of gay men to the island the movie is named after as they go to party it up one last time. Each man parallels a Pride & Prejudice character, and while watching the 2005 movie I couldn’t help but compare the two. 

This especially came into play when I was trying to understand the relationship between Elizabeth and Jane, because Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang’s characters were direct archetypes of them. Thinking about this story with something modern to compare it to was extremely helpful, and I was able to understand the classic film on a deeper level. 

Before watching Bridgerton, I had always had a hard time getting into Regency-era dramas. However, the Netflix romance was digestible for me, and it kind of felt like a gateway into other romances within this time period. Also, Anthony and Kate’s relationship has a slow burn to it like Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s, and that really helped me appreciate the story in Pride & Prejudice more. 

I guess what I’m saying, is these two projects really set me up for success on my rewatch. 

You can stream Fire Island with a Hulu subscription, and Season 3 of Bridgerton is expected to premiere on the 2023 TV schedule later this year. 

Overall, I Was Wrong, The Girls Were Right, And I Apologize  

I can admit when I’m wrong, and I’ve never been more wrong about a movie. I don’t know if I was in a mood the first time I watched Pride & Prejudice, or if I just didn’t have the knowledge needed to fully appreciate the film. Thankfully, I was in a fantastic mood this time, and I’ve gained a new appreciation for regency dramas and Austen-esque romance over the last couple of years, so I was able to fall in love with this 2005 classic as many have before me. 

You can stream Pride & Prejudice with a Netflix subscription.  

Following Disney’s first few attempts to adapt one of its own theme park attractions into a feature-length film — Tower of Terror, Mission to Mars, and The Country Bear — nobody expected that the fourth time would be the charm. There was also some fear regarding its chances at the box office, including among some of the cast members, considering how even the best pirate movies did not have a great success rate at the time. However, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ended up raking in a lot of booty, spawning a franchise that may not be finished yet, and even prompting renovations to the ride that inspired it with specific references.

It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since we first saw famed pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) joining forces with young blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to take on the cursed Capt. Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). In honor of this milestone, we have dug deep to find some of the hidden treasures lurking beneath this beloved, adventurous blockbuster — some of which may have you jolly as a Roger, and others that will cause you to shiver your timbers. See for yourself by scoping out these behind-the-scenes facts from the first (and, arguably, the best of the) Pirates of the Caribbean movies — starting with a glimpse at how different the film may have been if a certain filmmaking legend was made captain of the crew.

Steven Spielberg Was Interested In Directing

I think most movie lovers would agree that, when it comes to directors, one of the most reliable names in action, adventure, and high-wire thrills must be Steven Spielberg — the helmer of classic blockbusters like Jaws, the Indiana Jones movies, and Jurassic Park, most notably. Given his reputation at the time, the Academy Award winner might have been a good choice to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and, apparently, he could have if things turned out differently.

According to ScreenRant, the movie was first pitched in the early 1990s and caught the attention of Spielberg, whose take on the material did not quite match Disney’s intentions. He also had some unique potential actors in mind to play Capt. Jack — namely Bill Murray, Steve Martin, or the Peter Pan from his own pirate adventure, Hook: the late Robin Williams. With much respect and admiration for Spielberg and those brilliant comedic actors, I think it was for the best that the movie stayed shelved for a while.

The Director Wanted To Make The Movie Feel The Way The Original Ride Made Him Feel As A Kid 

Directorial duties for the first Pirates would ultimately go to Gore Verbinski, who was previously best known for one of the best horror movie remakes of its time, 2002’s The Ring, and would also later reteam with Depp for a few projects outside the franchise — namely 2011’s Oscar-winning Rango and the Razzie-winning The Lone Ranger from 2013. What seemed to make the filmmaker a good fit for this kind of film was his affinity for the source material. 

According to the DVD commentary for Black Pearl (via Film School Rejects), what Verbinski loved about Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean attraction as a child was how it managed to frighten him, but also make him laugh. He decided to honor that tone by making his adaptation scary and funny. As a swashbuckling adventure story with walking skeletons and a drunken lead character, I would say he nailed it in that regard.

Robert De Niro Was Reportedly Approached To Play Capt. Jack Sparrow

Of course, I think most would also agree that a good deal of credit for Black Pearl’s humor should go to Johnny Depp’s Academy Award-nominated performance as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine anyone else embodying what is considered one of Depp’s greatest characters, but he was not actually the first choice.

According to an article by U.K.-based news outlet, Express, none other than the legendary Robert De Niro was reportedly offered to play Capt. Jack, and even beat Jim Carrey for the role, but ultimately passed on it, fearing the film would suffer the same fate many other pirate movies had. The article goes on to say that, when his suspicions over the box office returns were proved wrong, the regretful Academy Award winner took a role in another swashbuckling fantasy adventure: the 2007 adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust… which actually turned out to be a flop.   

Johnny Depp Based Jack Sparrow On Keith Richards And Pepe Le Pew

Depp’s unique inspiration for how he would portray Capt. Jack — an unlikely (almost reluctant) hero who finds himself, literally, stumbling into some badass action moments in a drunken stupor — is almost as famous as the character himself. In an interview promoting the somewhat successful fifth installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the actor recalled to ET Canada who his muses were.

He believed that because pirates were the “rock stars” of their time, he should try to emulate the personality of the one he believed was the all-time greatest rock star, Keith Richards, and fuse that with the rambunctiousness of one of pop culture’s most famous “lotharios,” Pepe Le Pew. While there is very little chance of Depp sharing the screen with the skunky, canceled Looney Tunes character any time soon, The Rolling Stones’ guitarist would join the franchise as Jack’s father.

Barbossa’s Personality Naturally Came Out Once Geoffrey Rush Put On His Hat

Jack Sparrow’s rival and his forced successor as captain of the Black Pearl, Hector Barbossa, also boasts a memorably boisterous personality that kept him a welcome staple of the franchise (until the end of Dead Men Tell No Tales, that is). Apparently, for Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, getting into character did not require much thought.

While taking turns asking fan-generated questions for MovieFone’s Unscripted with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End co-stars Bill Nighy and Chow Yun-Fat, Rush initially joked that his inspiration for Barbossa was also Keith Richards and Pepe Le Pew. In reality, however, all it took was putting on the “brain of the character”: his hat, with a feather that suggested his “self-diluting flourishes of romantic grandeur” and a large, black brim that invoked the unbridled ego Barbossa wears on his sleeve.

Jack Sparrow’s Hat Had To Be Made Of Rubber 

While Capt. Jack’s hat was not quite as important to Depp’s initial development of his character, it is just as (if not more) iconic than Barbossa’s hat. However, there is an interesting fact about the prop that makes it particularly special.

On the docuseries Prop Culture (which is no longer available on Disney+, unfortunately), Black Pearl’s costume designer, Penny Rose, showed host and co-creator Dan Lanigan the hat that Depp wore in the movie, which she mentioned was made of rubber. Reason being: the original design kept getting thrown overboard and, after losing 10 copies, she decided to craft one out of a material that would stay afloat.

Keira Knightley’s Cleavage Was Painted On Her Body To Play Elizabeth Swann

Jack’s rubber hat is not even the craziest story relating to costuming or makeup from the set of Black Pearl. That honor very easily goes to what Keira Knightley had to go through in order for the then-17-year-old to be visually up to par with how Disney envisioned her role as Elizabeth Swann.

The two-time Academy Award nominee told Refinery29 that her bust appears larger in the film than it does in reality because her cleavage was “literally painted on,” which she chalked up to being just another day in Hollywood at the time. Still, for her, I imagine it must have been quite a thing to go through for the sake of a film she did not have much faith in to begin with.

Keira Knightley Believed That The Movie Would Bomb

Robert De Niro was not the only one who had low faith in the commercial potential for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. However, some people who felt the same way still wound up appearing in the movie, such as Knightley.

The British actor was pretty convinced that this very expensive film was destined to flop — a fact that we learned not from her own mouth, but by the testimony of her previous collaborator, Richard Curtis, during an interview with ABC News. According to the filmmaker, Knightley was starring as Juliet in Love Actually when he asked about her next project, to which she replied, “I don’t think it’s going to work. It’s a pirate film and they always fail.”

Gore Verbinski Convinced Jack Davenport To Star By Positing The Movie Could Be The Best Pirates Film In Decades

Another Black Pearl cast member who did not have the highest hopes for the film was Jack Davenport. Then best known for the hit British sitcom, Coupling, he would find new fame among American audiences by appearing in the film as Commodore James Norrington, but it took a little convincing. 

In an interview with ScreenSlam, Davenport was asked if he was ever a fan of pirate movies as a child before admitting he was not and, furthermore, did not believe there had been many “decent contemporary pirate films” in a while. However, he then mentions how Verbinski convinced him that, after “50 years” of disappointing big screen, swashbuckling adventures, this could be the one that would break the curse.

Zoe Saldaña Had A Negative Experience On Set

As we now know, Black Pearl would beat the odds by making more than $654 million worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo) and seemed to be a great success for everyone involved. Well, as it turns out, making the film actually proved to be dissatisfying for one then-up-and-coming cast member, Zoe Saldaña, who recalled the experience to The Hollywood Reporter in the following excerpt:

That explains why we never saw more of her character, Black Pearl crew member Anamaria, in further installments. Luckily, Saldaña would become more adept to the Hollywood experience, earn leading roles in multiple franchises (Avatar, Star Trek, and the MCU as Guardians of the Galaxy’s Gamora), and is now one of the top 10 highest-grossing actors of all time.

Hopefully, you found great reward in these behind the facts about The Curse of the Black Pearl. Now, all we can do is wonder if more treasures in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise are just over the horizon. 

UPDATE with VIDEO.

Keira Knightley has had quite the career and has gained the love and respect of many. From Pride and Prejudice to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, her range spans across genres, and it's not hard to see why she's earned so many admirers. However, Knightley's daughter apparently isn't all in on her mother's filmography. The English actress recently revealed that her little girl is not a fan of her work, and had some absolutely "brutal" takes after seeing one of the Pirates movies for the first time.

The 37-year-old actress recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where she chatted with the titular host about her latest film, The Boston Strangler. During the interview, Fallon asked her if her oldest daughter, Edie, had seen any of her films to which the Atonement star revealed that she showed her Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms -- which didn't really resonate with the 7-year-old. But after that, the Oscar-nominated star put on Pirates of the Caribbean, and her daughter had several sharp critiques:

That is brutal, to say the least. Kids tend to be honest to a fault, and clearly Keira Knightley’s daughter was not holding back. And of course, the well-meaning little one is wrong, as Knightley is as gorgeous now as she was back during the Pirates movies. I understand why it may not be one of Edie's favorite movies, however. While those flicks are a lot of fun, they're also very dark and the action scenes can definitely be very scary for younger children. Hopefully when she gets older, she can see some of the Oscar nominee’s other memorable films and really appreciate how incredible she is. Check out Knightley's full interview in the clip down below:

The Love Actually icon isn't the only star whose kid has an unusual relationship with their work. Kate Winslet hilariously recalled an awkward moment when her child’s friend recognized her from one of her more compromising scenes in Titanic. Paul Rudd’s daughter also had a very funny response  to seeing her dad on Friends for the first time. Children of celebrities are rarely impressed by their parents' jobs, and the anecdotes on said matters are usually hilarious.

If Keira Knightly’s daughter wasn’t drawn to Pirates of the Caribbean, she has plenty of other films for her to check out one day. As mentioned, the actress’ latest movie is Hulu's The Boston Strangler, and it follows two women who work to break the story about a serial killer in Boston. Knightly stars alongside Carrie Coon in the period piece, which also touches upon the gender politics of the newspaper business during the 1960s. I doubt Edie will be watching this movie for some time -- not only because it's a bit mature for her but also because she'd probably have more savage thoughts to share after seeing it.

You can catch The Boston Strangler now, as it is currently streaming for those with a Hulu subscription. Also, fans who do enjoy the Pirates of the Caribbean films can revisit the series with a Disney+ subscription. And for more information on other films that will be arriving in the near future, make sure to consult CinemaBlend’s schedule of 2023 new movie releases.

Over the years, Hulu has put out great high-concept comedies like Palm Springs and Academy Award-winning dramas like Nomadland, and dozens of other originals in just about every genre imaginable. During that same time, the streaming platform has also put out some great true crime stories, including its most recent release: Boston Strangler.

Matt Ruskin’s thriller about one of the most notorious serial killers in the American Northeast is new on Hulu, bringing with it an incredible saga about the two female reporters who pushed through bureaucracy and sexism to get to the bottom of the story. If you have watched the movie, or are planning to, there’s a chance you’ll want to know where you’ve seen the actors from the Boston Strangler cast, including its two leads: Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon. 

Keira Knightley (Loretta McLaughlin)

Leading the Boston Strangler cast is Keira Knightley, who takes on the role of Boston Record American reporter Loretta McLaughlin, the journalist who initially broke the story about the serial killer.

Knightley, a two-time Academy Award nominee (Pride & Prejudice, The Imitation Game), has done a little bit of everything throughout her long career, including massive blockbuster franchises like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, as well as iconic romantic comedies like Love Actually. Prior to Boston Strangler, Knightley’s most recent theatrical effort was the 2021 black comedy, Silent Night.

Carrie Coon (Jean Cole)

Carrie Coon plays a major role in the events with her portrayal of Jean Cole, an investigative reporter at the Boston Record American who was instrumental in the serial killer’s coverage.

The list of Coon’s best movies and TV shows could also be considered a list of some of the best releases in recent memory, with films like Gone Girl, Avengers: Infinity War, and another all-time great journalism story: The Post. She has also been a staple on the small screen, with shows like The Leftovers, Fargo, and most recently, The Gilded Age. 

Chris Cooper (Jack MacLaine)

A newspaper movie wouldn’t be a newspaper movie without a dogged editor. Luckily, Boston Strangler doesn’t have that problem, as Academy Award winner (Adaptation) Chris Cooper has a major role as Jack MacLaine.

Throughout his historic career, Cooper has appeared in countless movies, some of which could be considered the best of the past few decades. This includes unforgettable performances in the likes of American Beauty, October Sky, Capote, and another all-time great Boston movie, The Town. Cooper has even popped up in the Spider-Man franchise, having played Norman Osborn in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 

Alessandro Nivola (Detective Conley)

Alessandro Nivola shows up as Detective Conley, an investigator with the Boston Police Department looking into the murders.

Over the years, Nivola has appeared in movies like Selma, American Hustle, The Many Saints of Newark, and most recently, Amsterdam. Fans of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies will also certainly recognize Nivola from his portrayal of Billy Brennan in Jurassic Park III. 

Bill Camp (Commissioner McNamara)

Taking on the role of Boston Police Commissioner Edmund McNamara is Bill Camp, who brings years of experience to the cast.

Arguably one of the most talented character actors in Hollywood today, Camp has made a career out of giving commanding, and unique performances in all kinds of movies, shows, and stage productions. Fans of the Netflix drama series, The Queen’s Gambit will surely recognize Camp from his portrayal of Mr. Shaibel, as will those who watched The Outsider, which saw Camp in one of the show’s biggest roles. His more recent film contributions include Joker, News of the World, Passing, and Dark Waters. 

David Dastmalchian (Albert DeSalvo)

David Dastmalchian shows up as Albert DeSalvo, the man long believed to be the titular serial killer, though he has only been connected to one of the 13 victims in the decades since the attacks first began.

Dastmalchian, who made his film debut in The Dark Knight, has gone on to have a rather successful career, especially the past few years. With multiple roles in the Ant-Man movies, a sizable performance in Dune, and an unforgettable turn as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad, he’s been just about everywhere as of late. Dastmalchian is also set to be one of the many members of the Oppenhemier cast when Christopher Nolan’s next movie premieres this summer.

Ryan Winkles (Daniel Marsh)

Ryan Winkles provides an eerie performance with his portrayal of Daniel Marsh, one of the men suspected of being the killer.

Boston Strangler is Winkles first major feature film, as his previous on-screen appearances include various short films and the 2016 TV miniseries, The Time Traveling Bong. However, he has performed extensively on the stage throughout his career. 

Greg Vrotsos (George Nassar)

Greg Vrotsos appears in the film as George Nassar, Albert DeSalvo’s cellmate who is instrumental in the alleged killer’s confession.

Though he has appeared in movies like Empire State and Horrible Bosses 2 throughout his career, Vrotsos has predominantly been a TV actor, having major roles on shows like Orange is the New Black, the 2017 Twin Peaks revival series, and Mayans M.C., to name only a few. 

Morgan Spector (James McLaughlin)

Morgan Spector takes on the role of James McLaughlin, Keira Knightley’s on-screen husband, appearing in some of the movie’s more intense scenes.

Throughout his career, Spector has appeared on several notable TV shows, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Boardwalk Empire, Orange is the New Black, and Homeland. More recently, he has landed major roles on David Simon’s 2020 miniseries, The Plot Against America, as well as The Gilded Age, in which he plays Boston Strangler co-star Carrie Coon’s on-screen husband. 

Robert John Burke (Eddie Holland)

And then there is Robert John Burke, who portrays Boston Record American Managing Editor Eddie Holland, a figure who is initially hesitant to pursue the series of articles.

Known for his portrayal of Ed Tucker on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as his turn as Mickey Gavin on Rescue Me, Burke has been a prolific TV actor throughout his career, also landing roles on shows like Oz, Gossip Girl, Person of Interest, and countless others. His previous film work includes BlacKkKlansman, Tombstone, RoboCop 3 (he took on the role of the titular cyborg crimefighter), and most recently, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. 

This is just the main portion of the Boston Strangler cast. You can see these actors and everyone else by watching the true crime thriller with a Hulu subscription.

Stream Boston Strangler on Hulu.

The future of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise is very much a mystery. While we know a new movie is on the way, we know very little about it. And while most interest seems to be focused on the question of whether or not Johnny Depp will return for the next film, there were (of course) a few other actors that made a big impact in previous installments that could return. Although it sounds like Kiera Knightley isn’t really thinking about that.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has made no secret of the fact that he wants to bring Johnny Depp back as Captain Jack Sparrow in some capacity, and Orlando Bloom has intimated that he’d be interested in playing Will Turner once again. But even if both of those things happen, it doesn’t sound like it’s very likely the original trio will be getting back together. Kiera Knightley tells ET that she thinks Elizabeth Swann had a perfect ending, so there is no need to bring her back. Knightley said…

Keira Knightley returned for a single scene in the last franchise film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales so that Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner could be reunited following the end of Will’s curse. She never even had any lines, but it did bring some closure to that particular story. With that story complete, Knightley doesn’t see much reason to go back it seems.

Knightley has spoken recently about the way the Pirates franchise made her the “object of everyone’s lust” and how she wasn’t particularly prepared for that so early in her career and at such a young age. She certainly doesn’t have the warmest feeling about the franchise as a whole, so it’s not exactly surprising that she’s not in a hurry to go back.

Considering that even the return of Johnny Depp at this point is, at best, a long shot, would seem to indicate that whatever script is currently being worked on probably deals with almost entirely new characters to the franchise. It would be the best way to explain why Sparrow is nowhere to be found. If the story is going to make sense without Jack Sparrow, it will certainly work without Elizabeth Swann.

And Keira Knightley is right. Elizabeth Swann had a satisfying conclusion to her story. She had the most interesting journey of any of the three main characters in the original trilogy, and while, as a fan, I would love to see the character again, I’m ok with knowing that Elizabeth is happy, and going on a new pirate adventure with a new crew. 

When I think of Keira Knightley's movies the first films that come to mind are Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride and Prejudice and Love Actually. These films come to mind because, in the early 2000s, the actress blew up, and starred in many major roles that are still talked about today. However, from the actresses’ point of view these movies, and Pirates in particular, made her feel like an “object of everyone’s lust,” and it impacted her future and sense of self. 

As Knightley looked back on her career, she reflected on how audiences viewed her Pirates of the Caribbean character Elizabeth Swann, telling Harpers Bazaar:

Knightley went on to say that the form of femininity she was playing was not her own “lived experience,” and she struggled to work with that. She continued talking about the period of time between 2005 and 2008 – which was when the movies Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually, Atonement and Pride and Prejudice came out – saying she felt trapped and “quite powerless” because she was constantly being looked at as a type of woman she's not. The actress said:

Also, in the article she discussed how women are perceived by the public, which is maybe why she felt caged, and explained why she has never liked it, saying:

Now, 20 years removed from her first appearance as Elizabeth Swann in the movie she thought would flop, but turned into a global success, Knightley has made a point to take on smaller projects where she can play more nuanced characters, as the story explains. However, this is not the first time the Oscar-nominated actress has spoken critically about her time in big-budget movies. She acknowledged how “fortunate” she is to have had such success, however, she always wanted to play women who are “complicated, interesting [and] strange.” 

In the years since 2008, Knightley has been able to take on projects she always wanted to do, like Seeking a Frend for the End of the World, Begin Again, The Imitation Game and Official Secrets, to name a few. Now, she’s taking on another “complicated” and “interesting” role with Hulu’s Boston Strangler. 

It’s really sad to hear how much making these beloved movies from the early 2000s hurt Knightley, however, I’m happy she was able to persist and use her success to get projects she had always dreamed of doing.

If you want to check out her latest project, be sure to check out the 2023 movie schedule so you are ready to stream Boston Strangler with a Hulu subscription on March 17.

Over the years, journalism movies like All the President’s Men, Spotlight, and Zodiac have taken audiences out of their seats and into the hectic world of a newsroom at deadline, allowing them to see how the day’s biggest stories turn into some of history’s biggest moments. And with his latest directorial effort, Boston Strangler, writer/director Matt Ruskin makes a worthy addition to the list of best journalism movies, with his riveting true crime story about the duo of female reporters, played by Keira Knightley and The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon, who helped break the ‘60s murder case. Watch the trailer above for a brief sampling of what’s to come in the new Hulu movie.

Based on the work of Record American investigative reporters Loretta McLaughlin (Knightley) and Jean Cole (Coon), the upcoming release from 20th Century Studios follows the pair of newshounds as they do what their superiors at the Boston-based paper, as well as police and politicians, refuse to do: ask the difficult questions about a string of murders all committed in the same way with very similar victims.

The story of the killings have been at the center of multiple movies in the past, including 1968’s Boston Strangler starring Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, the man connected to at least one of the 13 murders committed by the serial killer, and Henry Fonda as John S. Bottomly, the Boston detective investigating the case. But with his version, Matt Ruskin, a Boston native, took a very different approach to the story and the manner in which it was told.

During an interview with CinemaBlend tied to the Boston Strangler trailer debut, Ruskin elaborated on what led to him making the 2023 movie: 

Soon after determining he wanted to take a different approach with Boston Strangler, the Crown Heights director found the perfect character: Loretta McLaughlin, the reporter who not only helped break the story, but also gave the Boston Strangler his name. Through research, not only did Ruskin learn more about McLaughlin, he also discovered that he knew the granddaughter of her fellow reporter, Jean Cole.  

Boston Strangler, which also stars Academy Award winner Chris Cooper, Alessandro Nivola, David Dastmalchian, Bill Camp, and Morgan Spector, is set to premiere Friday, March 17, 2023, exclusively on Hulu. If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to sign up for a Hulu subscription so you don’t miss out on this engaging true crime story and others like it.

The love story of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet has been reimagined and adapted many times throughout history. However, the 2005 movie version of Pride and Prejudice is one of the best. Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen really give these characters the quiet brilliance they need to thrive on screen, and it’s one of Keira Knightley’s best films. 

I have seen many Pride and Prejudice screen adaptations and re-imaginings, but this will always be my favorite. Therefore, with the beloved movie coming to Peacock, I knew it was time for another rewatch. It’s my first in quite a long time, so I had many thoughts.  

Pride And Prejudice Is The Opposite Of A Meet Cute 

Everyone loves a good meet cute. Our leads meet and sparks fly. They set out on their romantic journey with all its future triumphs and pitfalls. The meet-cute sets the tone for the relationship.

Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) and Elizabeth’s (Keira Knightley) first interaction is anything but cute. Clearly, Darcy falls for her the moment he sees her. However, he denies himself.

Then he does the worst thing a guy can do: speaks ill of her to another. This sets them on an enemies-to-lovers path. Like many other great enemies-to-lovers romances, it will take a while for them to find common ground. 

Elizabeth has every right to find herself annoyed with Mr. Darcy because who wouldn’t in that situation? Pride and Prejudice is made all the more fun because of their failure to communicate even from the start. Some of the best romantic movies involve a little tension at the beginning. It’s how you know the film will frustrate and delight you. 

Words Matter As Much As Actions In This Movie 

As stated, nearly every one of Darcy and Elizabeth’s problems could have been resolved if they just had some tea and got to know each other. They didn’t talk enough. When they did talk, it was often combative.

Usually, their words shoot daggers at each other. Darcy said something snobby and Elizabeth handled it with wit and a sharp tongue. Their verbal spars were enough to buy premium tickets for the event.

Words got them in trouble. Therefore, when Darcy becomes a man of action, and not just words, he shows Elizabeth his true heart. Pride and Prejudice proves that words and actions both can harm or help you. This means that both deserve equal amounts of effort and attention.

Your pretty words have to be backed with actions. The greatest movie love stories involve both great speeches and great romantic gestures. 

The Sisterly Love In Pride And Prejudice Shines As Strongly As The Romance In It 

Many of Jane Austen’s greatest stories have family at their center along with romance. The love between sisters is also a common theme. Pride and Prejudice may showcase this best. Jane (Rosamund Pike) and Elizabeth are quite attached to each other. They love each other so much that anyone who hurts them becomes an enemy. They have an agreement that says if my sister doesn’t like you, then I don’t like you. 

Mr. Darcy’s greatest crime against Elizabeth is that he almost ruined Jane’s chance at happiness. If Mr. Darcy did everything right after that, he still probably wouldn’t have won Elizabeth’s heart until he fixed things with Jane and Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods).

Family, in general, is one of the most important things to Elizabeth. Despite their eccentricities, she really loves them.

Everything About This Film Is Pretty 

Pride and Prejudice is such a pretty movie. The cinematography is gorgeous, but also the scenery itself creates a picturesque world.

Clearly, director Joe Wright put a lot of thought into each frame and detail. There are so many breathtaking shots or careful camera movements to create gorgeous images.

Additionally, I am a sucker for great costume designs. I could not tell you if these are accurate costumes to the era but I can say that they are very stunning outfits. 

One of the reasons I enjoy Bridgerton and similar movies and shows are the pretty, seemingly hard-to-breathe-in dresses. However, Pride and Prejudice shows women wearing a bit more casual beautiful garments. This works because there are only a few ballroom scenes and the Bennets are not a wealthy family. They wear pretty dresses, but aren't as extravagant as others. 

Mr. Darcy Is Such An Attractive Love Interest Because He Owns Up To His Mistakes And Fixes Them 

There is something so appealing about a lead character who knows they messed up and fixes it. They don’t continuously ignore the problem or argue that they were right. They say, “Oh dang, my bad. Let me fix that.”

Mr. Darcy understands the assignment! He says this girl hates me for valid reasons, I need to do everything in my power to atone and help her family. Helping someone else out just because you love them is the ultimate sexy move. A considerate partner? Yes, please. This makes Mr. Darcy one of the sexiest fictional characters. 

“You Have Bewitched Me Body And Soul” Stays On Constant Rotation In My Mind 

Speaking of sexy moves in movies, how can you not fall for Mr. Darcy when he gives his speech to Elizabeth and says that “you have bewitched me body and soul”? This is, once again, showing that words are so powerful when used thoughtfully.

I don’t know many movie quotes or speeches, but those lines were programmed into my brain the moment I heard them. If someone tells you, in earnestness, that you bewitched them body and soul, you almost have to marry them.

Other Thoughts 

I have no pride or any prejudice here, so let me share more thoughts: 

• Poor Mary (Talulah Riley). We have all been movie Mary at one point in our lives.
• Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) is ruthless in her pursuit of marrying off her daughters, and I love her for it.
• Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) constantly shades Lydia (Jena Malone), and honestly, she deserves it. 
• Pride and Prejudice just makes me want to read more Jane Austen novels. It may be time to finally finish Emma. 
• Mr. Bennet crying from realizing how much Elizabeth loves Darcy is such a sweet moment.
• The whole second proposal scene, through the very end of the movie, just brings me every emotion (from laughter to tears to joy). 

Pride and Prejudice is one of the best movies to stream on Peacock right now. It’s also one of the best romantic movies to watch, especially if you want a classic book adaptation done really well. 

Stream Pride and Prejudice on Peacock. 

‘Tis the season to get deeply invested in random facts about some of our favorite holiday movies. This year, so far, the Internet has been astounded about a Home Alone plot point explaining how the family forgot Kevin, debated whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and engaged in the time-honored tradition of throwing out wild age-related Love Actually stats. 

It’s a particular fact about Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster that’s making the rounds again this week, but I honestly think there's a second wrinkle to this shocking stat that people aren't really talking about enough. Let's discuss.

The Love Actually Stat About Keira Knightley And Thomas Brodie-Sangster People Just Cannot Get Over

Here’s the gist: For the last several years, around the holidays fans have been reminding those who revisit Love Actually that there is in fact only a five-year difference in age between Thomas Brodie-Sangster (who was 13 when the movie filmed) and Keira Knightley (who was only 18 at the time). The viral tweets are often surprising to people, as Brodie-Sangster’s character is dealing with a middle school crush while Knightley’s character is married and dealing with some attention from her husband’s pal in the film. 

The stat first rolled around thanks to this viral tweet, but every year it's surprising to a whole new slew of people. 

In the time since, fans are continually doing the mental math for the 2003 Christmas movie and, as one Twitter user put it, it’s “breaking [their] brain.” Another Twitter user also noted “Just learned that Keira Knightley was only 18 when they filmed Love Actually. This is the most shocking revelation since finding out Thomas Brodie-Sangster was 15 in Nanny McPhee.”

Granted, while Brodie-Sangster looked young for much of his childhood career, and while these fan reactions are amusing, it is startling to think the two were only a few years apart when the movie filmed. However, if you've followed interviews about the iconic holiday film regularly, perhaps the Pirates of the Caribbean star's age shouldn't come as such a shock. In fact, Knightley has been open about still being a teenager while starring in Love Actually. She's said in the past she wore a hat in one awkward scene to try and hide an acne outbreak she was dealing with on her forehead. 

She was actually closer in age filming Love Actually to Thomas Brodie-Sangster than she was to Chiwetel Ejiofer, who played her husband in the film and Andrew Lincoln, who was even older and pining for her in the film. Which brings me to my next point. 

Maybe We Should Be Talking About The Age Gap Between Keira Knightley And Andrew Lincoln

We're sitting here discussing how Thomas Brodie-Sangster looked super young filming Love Actually while Keira Knightley (presumably) played up in age, but can we talk about how Chiwetel Ejiofer was 26 when the movie filmed and The Walking Dead vet Andrew Lincoln was already 30? There was actually a bigger gap between Knightley and Ejiofer (8 years) and Knightley and Lincoln (12 years) than there was between her and the younger actor. 

I know it's calling acting for a reason, but the fact that Andrew Lincoln is a solid 12 years older than Knightley at the time the movie was filming adds a whole 'nother layer to their oft-roasted scene. As you may well remember, Lincoln's character Mark is kind of rude to Knightley's Juliet, but she later realizes it's because he's in love with her. Toward the end of the movie, he shows up at the house she shares with her husband and quietly drops cards revealing a message ending with, 'To me, you are perfect.'

In the time since, Andrew Lincoln has referred to himself as a "weird stalker guy" and the moment has been roasted online and even spoofed elsewhere, such as on SNL. Still, love it or hate it, 20 years later, people are still talking about this scene. With the age difference in mind, it feels even more absurd. 

Despite all of this BTS info about the casting, Love Actually remains one of the most popular Christmas movies streaming, a head scratcher Keira Knightley has said she can't figure out. Catch it on Peacock with a subscription.  

In the early 2000s, Disney took a wild chance turning one of its theme park attractions into a summer blockbuster adventure. It was an especially risky move for the House of Mouse to make, considering it was also a pirate movie, and to that date, the most recent theatrical pirate outings had done nothing but fail. But Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was a blockbuster and worldwide phenomenon that spawned a billion-dollar franchise (you can see our ranking of all the Pirate films), turning the cast into overnight stars. One of the series’ actors, Keira Knightly, was confident the movie was bound to be a flop. 

In a recent ABC News 20-year retrospective of the film Love Actually, Diane Sawyer sat down with many people responsible for creating the critically and fan-revered romantic classic to understand its lasting success. The film’s director, Richard Curtis, recalls meeting actress Kiera Knightly (who plays Juliet in the movie) before her meteoric Hollywood rise and the thoughts she shared with the filmmaker about her upcoming swashbuckling film. Curtis told Sawyer:

Who can blame the young actress for assuming the Pirates movie would fail? Before the release of the Gore Verbinski-directed action movie, the last big pirate film to be released theatrically was the box office mega bomb Cutthroat Island. The Renny Harlin film is considered responsible for causing pirate movies to go dormant until The Pirates films revived the genre.

It’s easy to look back now and laugh at Keira Knightley’s feelings at the time. She became a massive star thanks partly to the first three Pirates movies. Knightley will likely not return in future Pirates films, but the franchise refuses to die. There have already been five films in the main series, and there have been rumors of a potential reboot or remake for years. In recent months, the project furthest along was a spinoff starring Margot Robbie, but the actress says the studio isn’t interested in moving forward with her idea. 

While we don’t know everything, what we do know about the future of The Pirates franchise is that, despite online petitions and vocal fans, Disney has expressed confidence in the series moving forward without Johnny Depp as Captain Jack. Undoubtedly, the company will not let its billion-dollar franchise flounder for very long. I’m sure some take on the property will hit theaters in the not-too-distant future. 

Only time will tell if a Depp-less Pirates movie will be worth wild for Disney. Perhaps, in its second iteration, the series will be that flop Knightley was certain The Black Pearl would be. Or maybe, Disney will take another chance, and it will pay off with high seas thrill ride audiences will flock to like they did with the first Pirates film. Until then, we will have to enjoy rewatching the original movies, all available streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Pirates of the Caribbean fans might also be interested in our list of the 11 best pirates movies and where to watch them. 

No one could have predicted that a movie based on a theme park attraction could attract multiple theme parks-worth of movie-goers into theaters around the world and spawn a massively successful, long-running franchise. However, that accurately describes the success of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movies -- starring Academy Award nominee Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow, Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom as William Turner, and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann.

The trio would reunite with the main antagonist of the first film, Geoffrey Rush as Capt. Barbossa, but this time as an ally in what was initially said to be the third and final installment of the franchise. A decade-and-a-half has passed since the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End cast (also including Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma, Chow Yun-fat as Sao Feng, and rock star Keith Richards as Jack's father) gathered for the high-seas adventure's world premiere. Relive that night and check out how the actors look today by swiping through photos in the slideshow below.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice remains a timeless enemies to lovers story we’ll likely go back to again and again for two hundred more years. And the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy was beautifully immortalized on film back in 2005 when Joe Wright helmed an adaptation starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as the unexpected couple. It’s a movie that went viral this past year thanks to TikTok. Just the reach the late Austen expected I’m sure. 

Likely fanned by the flames of Bridgerton’s success as of late, people have been revisiting Pride and Prejudice and talking about one specific scene where Mr. Darcy helps Elizabeth into a carriage and then is seen flexing his hand as he walks away. Check out the much circulated TikTok: 

Following the video, a whole side of TikTok was talking about Mr. Darcy’s hand flex left and right – so much the topic itself on the platform has nearly 10 million views. One user even flexed her decision to get the moment as a tattoo after the moment became famous again: 

One fan of the moment also took to the social media platform to parody the moment using a Celine Dion song. Hey, why not? Check it out:

It’s safe to say TikTokers are bewitched body and soul by the moment in 2005’s Pride and Prejudice. Here’s one more:

The film’s director was recently asked by Insider about the big Pride and Prejudice resurgence. Here was his response: 

Apparently Wright had no idea his movie had reached viral status on the social media app. The filmmaker is currently promoting his latest film Cyrano, which is another movie version of a classic story. Wright was also on CinemaBlend’s podcast ReelBlend to discuss the film. Last month, Matthew Macfadyen was also educated on the viral status of the hand flex. He shared how the scene was filmed on NPR”s Fresh Air podcast: 

I love this Pride and Prejudice revival. It 100 percent deserves renewed attention. The movie is still among Keira Knightley’s best movies and offers up the kind of period fantasy Bridgerton will likely continue with its upcoming Season 2. You can rewatch the romance with an HBO Max subscription. 

When I think of queens of period dramas, one of the first names that comes to mind is Keira Knightley. From her early times in film to some of her latest ventures, Knightley has consistently proven that she is the ultimate actress when it comes to compelling period pieces that scream emotion and will surely make you cry. 

However, Knightley is known for far more than just her period pieces, as she’s been in fantasy movies, fun teen films, and more that have become classics over her multiple-decade career. Here are some of Keira Knightley’s best movies that you can stream or rent right now, and one you could buy. 

Princess Of Thieves (2001)

While Keira Knightley had made a couple of minor appearances in movies prior to this one, Princess of Thieves was really one of her breakout roles. This fun TV movie tells the untold story of another version of Robin Hood - his daughter. But, when her father is captured by the obtuse rulers of the kingdom, she takes it upon herself, with the help of others, to bring back the rightful ruler, as well as take back her father. 

I always looked at Princess of Thieves as sort of training for Keira’s big role in Pirates of the Caribbean (which we’ll talk about later). What I really love about this is that it shows even when she was younger, Knightley was a badass at acting, delivering excellent scenes and some super fun fight sequences that remind me of old Robin Hood movies, which makes it even more enjoyable to watch. 

Buy the Princess of Thieves DVD on Amazon.

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Another breakout role for Keira Knightley, Bend it Like Beckham is a fun teen comedy with romance and sports. In this movie, a young Indian woman has grown up with strict parents, and even though she has come of age, they still won’t let her live her life and allow her to do what she loves the most - play soccer. Soon, an ally emerges and convinces her to join a semi-pro team after seeing how good she is at the game - all while keeping it a secret from her family. 

Ever since Ted Lasso released on Apple TV+, I’ve gotten myself into a cycle of watching sports comedies for fun, and Bend it Like Beckham is perfect. I can see why Keira Knightley ended up getting more attention after this role, as her relationship with Jess in the movie feels like a real friendship and it’s all about the two of them trying to support each other despite the consequences. 

Stream Bend It Like Beckham on HBO Max.
Rent Bend It Like Beckham on Amazon.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean Franchise (2003 - 2017)

Now this is where Keira Knightley exploded onto the scene. Pirates of the Caribbean, loosely based on the theme park ride of the same name, follows pirates as they travel across the Caribbean seas, ravaging, scavenging, and drinking their way to glory, including the famous Jack Sparrow. 

Keira Knightly, for several Pirates of the Caribbean movies, played Elizabeth Swann, a young woman who was fascinated with the idea of pirates since she was a young girl, and she is a badass in these movies. Before many major movies with women as superheroes or action heroes, there was Elizabeth Swann, this amazingly independent and skilled fighter who still finds love, and that's something that I always loved as a child and still do to this day. Only Keira Knightley could play such a fascinating character; one that I’ve truly grown fond of more and more. 

Stream The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise on Disney+.
Rent The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise on Amazon.

Love Actually (2003)

If you want to see a great romantic comedy that’s mixed with some Christmas cheer, check out Love Actually. Here, we follow the lives of several different couples, who are all struggling with their own personal issues as the holidays loom. 

The Love Actually cast has so many stars in it it’s always hard to focus on one specific performance, but truly, it’s one of the best Christmas movies out there, and Keira Knightley’s role is just as iconic as you would expect it to be. That scene with her and Mark (Andrew Lincoln) is probably one of the most recognizable scenes from modern movies. I think all of us sort of dream that our perfect match would stand outside our door and profess their love for us. Ah, guess I’ll have to keep dreaming. 

Stream Love Actually on Amazon.
Rent Love Actually on AppleTV.

Pride And Prejudice (2005)

Pride and Prejudice, based on the novel of the same name, is a classic enemies to lovers story where two very different people must move past their own prides and prejudices in order to realize their true feelings. 

This is what I mean when I say Keira Knightley is a queen of period dramas, because she just acts so well in these movies. Her facial expressions and ability to show emotion makes her perfect for these sorts of movies that are often focused on love or wanting to overcome adversity. I will always love the relationship that she builds with Mr. Darcy and think that it’s one of the best romances out there. 

Stream Pride and Prejudice on HBO Max.
Rent Pride and Prejudice on Amazon.

Atonement (2007)

The critically-acclaimed movie, Atonement, is another great drama with a fantastic list of stars, including Keira Knightley. The drama follows what can happen when a crime occurs, and how the effects of that crime can still cause harm even years later, starting all the way back in the 1930s and moving onward. 

Keira Knightley’s performance is one of the many reasons to watch Atonement, as she again brings her all to the performance and shows just how great of an actress she really is. Her scenes with Saorise Ronan, in particular, are some of the standouts. The score is also fantastic - and if you don’t believe me, believe that it won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. 

Rent Atonement on Amazon.

The Duchess (2008)

If you’re looking for another great Keira Knightley period piece, check out The Duchess. Based on a real-life Duchess, Georgiana Cavendish, the film examines her life from when she was a young woman, to her marriages, and to the rest of her life, which ended in tragedy. 

Fun fact - Georgiana was actually the great-great-great-great aunt of Princess Diana, and Keira Knightley does a fantastic job portraying a young woman whose life was turned upside down. Something else that I love about this movie is the costume design, which was phenomenally done and really added to every scene that Knightley was in, further making her portrayal that much more realistic. 

Stream The Duchess on Paramount Plus.
Rent The Duchess on Amazon.

Anna Karenina (2012)

Another excellent period piece performance from Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina follows the titular character, who is a socialite and the wife of a senior statesman. Everything changes when she meets Count Vronksy, and heads into an affair that will change her life forever.

This is one of my personal favorite Keira Knightley performances, as she skillfully performs as Anna while also crafting a beautifully tragic love story that will make anyone’s heart clench, alongside her on-screen love interest, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Like the last entry, the costume design in this movie is also brilliant as hell, and makes the movie that much better. 

Stream Anna Karenina on HBO Max.
Rent Anna Karenina on Amazon.

Begin Again (2014)

As someone who adores some of the best movie musicals, Begin Again is such an underrated one. Keira Knightley stars as an undiscovered singer / songwriter who has been with her partner for some time. When he finds success, which leads to infidelity, she tries to begin her life again without him - and starts by meeting a record producer who's looking for a new singer. 

I love Begin Again. Both Knightley and Mark Ruffalo (who plays her love interest) have such amazing chemistry and really help create a meaningful love story, not only about romantic love but familial love, as well. Something I also adore about this film is that it’s about finding that feeling of belonging. Anyone at any point in their life can begin again, and that’s exactly what her character eventually does. 

Stream Begin Again on Netflix.
Rent Begin Again on Amazon.

The Imitation Game (2014)

The Imitation Game is a war drama that tells the story of Alan Turing, one of the grandfathers of the computer, and how he and his team of brilliant minds worked together to crack codes and reveal messages that could be used to aid the Allies during World War II. 

Keira Knightley portrayed Joan Clarke, a real life cryptanalyst who aided Alan Turing and was actually his partner for a time before they separated after he revealed he was homosexual. While many would probably think that Pride & Prejudice is Knightley’s best role, I will always think The Imitation Game is where she truly brought her acting skills to the table. There’s something so compelling about her performance as Joan that gets me every time I watch the movie, and her interactions with Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Alan, are some of the best in the film and make it that much more entertaining to watch. 

Stream The Imitation Game on Amazon.
Rent The Imitation Game on Apple TV.

Colette (2018)

Last, but not least, let’s take a look at Colette, one of Knightley’s latest entries. Colette documents the life of real French novelist, Colette, otherwise known as Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, following how her rise to fame as a writer started with her husband, and she later created her own success. 

As someone who hadn’t heard of the author prior to the movie, I quite enjoyed Colette and all of the drama it had to offer, and Keira Knightley once again rocked it in a period piece where she was able to display a full range of emotions. Even if the film didn’t break the bank at the box office, it was still a great movie that showcases the power of Knightley’s acting skills. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check it out. 

Stream Colette on Hulu.
Rent Colette on Amazon.

With so many amazing movies under her belt, one can only wonder what Keira Knightley is going to do next. Until we find out, I think I’ll just re-watch Pirates of the Caribbean for the umpteenth time. Anyone want to join me?  

Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode star in part Christmas, part apocalyptic film Silent Night. Writer/Director Camille Griffin joins the show to talk about collaborating with her actor sons, including Roman Griffin Davis, how famed cinematographer and her husband, Ben Davis refused to shoot the film, and more. 

Producer Amy Pascal confirmed Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is set to return to the MCU following Spider-Man: No Way Home, however, things got a little more complicated as “Sony insiders” quickly responded saying nothing yet was confirmed. We dissect exactly what happened, and what we think comes next. 

Also on this week’s show, we review The Power Of The Dog starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and Camille Griffin’s Silent Night which is now available in theaters and AMC+. 

Timestamps (approx. only)

00:02:55 - Weekly Poll
00:09:48 - Camille Griffin Interview
00:34:18 - Celebrating James Rocchi
00:46:35 - Spider-Man Staying In The MCU?
00:58:00 - The Power of the Dog Review
01:08:37 - Silent Night Review
01:13:34 - Our Favorite Keira Knightley Movies
01:28:15 - Outro

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Keira Knightley has previously starred in the modern-day Christmas classic Love Actually, and the disaster comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, but she will soon find herself in a movie that combines elements from both of those films, for a rather unique spin on the Holiday genre with Silent Night. The upcoming comedic drama, from writer-director Camille Griffin, about a group of friends spending what could very possibly be not only their final Christmas together but also their last night alive will soon come to theaters and AMC+, and we have just about everything you need to know before it arrives this holiday season. Here are seven quick things we know about Silent Night.

Silent Night Will Be Released In Theaters And On AMC+ In December 2021

Just before Silent Night made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021, AMC Networks announced that not only had it acquired the North American rights to the upcoming Christmas disaster film but that the movie would premiere at some point in December 2021. A date hasn’t been officially announced at this time, but Silent Night will premiere in theaters (through AMC’s RLJE Films) and on the AMC+ streaming service simultaneously. Expect to hear more details on an exact date of release for the movie in the coming weeks.

The Silent Night Cast Includes Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode And Lily-Rose Depp

One thing that is for sure about Silent Night is that its cast is absolutely stacked with talented actors, even when you’re not talking about its star Keira Knightley. Per AMC Networks, the upcoming end-of-the-world comedic Christmas drama will see Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey), Lily-Rose Depp (Voyagers), Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit), Lucy Punch (Bad Teacher), Annabelle Wallis (Malignant), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Cruella), Sope Dirisu (Gangs of London), and Rufus Jones (Stan and Ollie). The characters that each of the actors will be playing has not yet been revealed at this time, but expect to hear an update on that in the near future.

Silent Night Follows A Group Of Friends Spending Their Last Christmas Together Before The End Of The World

When Silent Night opens in theaters and starts streaming on AMC+ in December, it will tell the story of a group of friends reuniting for what could very well be the final Christmas get-together not just for them, but for the whole world. The official logline reads:

As you can probably tell by now, this won’t be your average Christmas movie, but it sounds like one we won’t be forgetting for quite some time.

Silent Night Is The Directorial Debut Of Writer/Director Camille Griffin

When Silent Night was first announced in January 2020, Deadline revealed that the comedic end-of-the-world drama would be written and directed by Camille Griffin, the mother of JoJo Rabbit star Roman Griffin Davis, who also stars in the upcoming Christmas film. This will be the feature-length directorial debut for Griffin whose previous efforts include five short films that she wrote and directed between 2003 and 2013. Prior to that, Griffin worked in various camera departments on movies that include Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace and Layer Cake alongside cinematographers like Darius Khondji and Ben Davis, to whom she is married.

When AMC Networks announced it would be handing the North American release of Silent Night, RLFE Films Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward called the movie a “true achievement” for the first-time feature film director, saying that it couldn’t be “more timely” for the questions it asks its audience.

The Kingsman’s Matthew Vaughn Is One Of The Silent Night Producers

Producing Silent Night is a trio of producers behind some of the most popular movies of the past two decades, including Matthew Vaughn, the mastermind behind the Kingsman franchise, including the soon-to-be-released The King’s Man, through his Marv Studios. The other two producers behind Silent Night are Trudie Styler (Moon, Still Alice) and Celine Rattray (The Kids Are All Right, Filth).

Director Camille Griffin previously worked alongside Matthew Vaughn on the 2004 crime drama Layer Cake, starring a pre-007 Daniel Craig, and Tom Hardy. In the past, Marv Studios has produced everything from the Kick Ass franchise to Rocketman.

Production On Silent Night Took Place In February 2020

Silent Night will open in theaters and begin streaming on AMC+ at some point in December 2021, a little less than two years after production on the Christmas disaster film first kicked off. In early February 2020, when announcing additions to the Silent Night cast, Deadline reported that cameras would start rolling on Camille Griffin’s holiday drama later that month. It hasn’t been made entirely clear if the production was able to wrap before film and television shoots around the world were forced to shut down in the early days of that year, but the film was completed in time for its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021.

Silent Night’s Score Was Composed By The Crown’s Lorne Balfe

Lorne Balfe, the prolific musician who has composed arrangements for everything from the hit Netflix series The Crown to movies like Mission: Impossible — Fallout and The Tomorrow War, was tasked with putting together the score for the upcoming Silent Night, according to film’s credits page on the Toronto International Film Festival website. Throughout his career, Balfe has worked extensively with Hans Zimmer, on films like The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, and another Christmas classic, The Holiday. The two were even nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2017 for their work on Genius.

Expect to read more about Silent Night (especially its release date) as we get closer to the film's upcoming debut at some point in December. In the meantime, check out CinemaBlend's list of 2021 movie premiere dates so you don't miss anything coming to a theater and streaming service near you.

This story contains spoilers for the upcoming film Silent Night. There’s a plot detail in Silent Night that you might not want to know about. However, it’s really hard to talk about Silent Night without mentioning this, so proceed with caution.

Prior to Silent Night having its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, if you had brought up Keira Knightley in a Christmas movie, an audience member instantly would have gone to Love, Actually, a staple of the holiday season (even if it’s a tad sarcastic and dark in ways some might not appreciate). Well, Knightley wanted to go even darker with her next Holiday movie, which arrives in theaters in December, just in time for the entire family to gather together and celebrate the season with a film.

Written and directed by Camille Griffin, Silent Night exists in a world where the entire population is succumbing to a deadly cloud as it makes its way across the surface of the planet. The end is inevitable, and this British family -- led by Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) -- has chosen to spend its last day celebrating Christmas with most of their loved ones. They’ve accepted their fates… for the most part. And they’re hesitant to take something that has been handed out by the UK government called the EXIT pill. Don’t they trust their government overlords? “Oh God, no,” exclaims Annabelle Wallis’s character, Sandra. “They killed Diana!”

It’s remarkable just how timely the subject matter of Silent Night ends up being, what with debates over pandemic vaccines and how many would choose to spend their final days. But while speaking with CinemaBlend from the Toronto International Film Festival, Knightley explains that filming a movie about the end of the world DURING a global pandemic was particularly unsettling. She told us:

Silent Night takes a very human approach to an unconventional situation… though one that’s far more recognizable thanks to these last two years than I really care for it to be. There’s humor from a spot-on cast. But there’s also more than enough conversation fodder to keep you talking long after the humdinger of a final scene has played, and the end credits have rolled.

Right now, [Silent Night is aiming for](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SilentNight(2021_film) a December 3 release date, so make sure it’s on your radar as the holidays sneak up.

Keira Knightley has had a long and successful film career, starting from a young age in projects like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Love, Actually. Now a mother and established actress, Knightley has been using her platform to discuss important social issues. And she recently dropped an F-bomb while revealing that she and seemingly all her friends have been sexually harassed sometime in their life.

Over the past few years there has been a ton of conversation surrounding sexual harassment, both in the workplace and out. Movements like #MeToo seemingly inspired women to speak out about their experience, and Keira Knightley is another famous name using her platform and being brutally honest about the world we live in. During a recent interview the Pirates of the Caribbean icon was asked if she had ever experienced harassment, to which she said:

Talk about honesty. Keira Knightley not only revealed her own experience being harassed, but she’s shared this type of story with a number of other women. It’s certainly a sobering message, one that can illuminate folks regarding just how much of a widespread problem this is.

Keira Knightley’s comments come from a long-form interview with Harper’s Bazaar about her career and life. Eventually the chat touched on serious subjects like Knightley losing loved ones to COVID-19, and her experience with harassment. That’s when she got honest about just how often it factors into the day to day life of both the actress and her female friends.

Indeed, there are a number of precautions that women are sometimes forced to take on when doing normal activities like walking home or using a parking garage. Some of these concepts include keeping your keys in your hand or taking a fake phone call. In the same interview Keira Knightley spoke to this aspect of her life, saying:

While Keira Knightley might seem like she’s got it all as a celebrity, the 36 year-old actress also shares the same concerns as many of us. She’s experienced harassment, resulting in changes to her behavior that Knightley herself deems “depressing.” It’s likely for this reason that she’s so honest in the aforementioned interview, shedding light on an issue that she shares with friends and strangers alike.

As far as her career goes, Keira Knightley filmed a number of projects before sets around the world were shut down. She’ll next be seen in the upcoming holiday movie Silent Night, alongside Lily-Rose Depp and Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis.

Silent Night was expected to arrive sometime in 2021, but it doesn’t have a release date. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.