Keira Knightley Literally Can't Remember Who She Plays In Star Wars

Keira in Episode I

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The Star Wars franchise is an iconic part of film history, and is also showing no signs of slowing down. The galaxy far, far away continues to expand with projects on the small and big screen, and therefore countless actors have contributed to the property. And some of them even forget exactly who they played. Case in point Keira Knightley, who recently admitted she was confused about her character in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Keira Knightley helped to kickstart the prequel trilogy in The Phantom Menace. She played the character Sabe, who was Queen Padme Amidala's stand-in throughout much of the conflict on Naboo. Knightley was recently asked about her Star Wars character, where the 35 year-old actress got mixed up about exactly who she played in the franchise. She said,

Wait a minute, who did I play? Was I not Padme? I was Sabe, ok. I think I was 12 when I did it, and it came out and I saw it the year after. And I never saw it again. I hope she lived a long and happy life somewhere in a planet far, far away.

Well, that's delightful. Because while Star Wars fans have dissected every frame of the beloved space opera, it was truly just a blip in the career of Keira Knightley. Add in how young she was during her brief appearance, and it makes sense that she might have mixed up the name of her actual character. Especially because she spent the majority of her scenes posing as Queen Amidala herself.

Keira Knightley's comments to ComingSoon shows how the Star Wars sausage gets made. While the public has one view of the space opera, it's ultimately made by everyday people. And for some of them, it isn't the groundbreaking experience that fans might assume. Cue Miss Knightley.

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The Star Wars franchise is known for its twists, and The Phantom Menace was no exception. One of the unexpected turn of events happened when Natalie Portman's Padme revealed herself be the true Queen of Naboo, and that Sabe was actually a decoy used for her protection. Keira Knightley spent the majority of her time onscreen in the signature Amidala makeup, which is probably why she assumed that was actually her childhood character. As a reminder, you can relive that specific reveal below.

While Keira Knightley's Sabe only appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, she went on to have more adventures on the page. Her story continued by investigating Padme's death, and eventually joining the Rebellion. She recently returned in the comics, and encounter Darth Vader in the process. Her resemblance to Anakin's late wife opened up exciting storytelling opportunities, one that fans would no doubt love to see translated into live-action.

As for Keira Knightley, she went on to star in a ton of exciting film projects. She's best known for projects like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Love, Actually, and consistently stars in new movies. We'll just have to see if she manages to remember her Star Wars character's name in the future.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Star Wars as details become public. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.