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:
When I first read the script, I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be easy, I’ll sit in the back of carriages, I’ll wear pretty dresses, I’ll pout a bit, you know it’ll be fine.’ But actually, I’ve had a lot of stunt work to do, which, for somebody as lazy as me, has been rather challenging.
