Keira Knightley saw her level of fame increase when she appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, but she has no interest in returning to that way of life.
The actress, who starred in multiple Pirates movies from 2003 to 2007, revealed why she will not sign on for another multiple-film franchise in an interview with the U.K.’s Times published on Saturday. Knightley shared that she has become more particular about her career choices after welcoming two daughters, Edie and Delilah, with her husband, James Righton.
“I couldn’t go job to job [abroad] now,” Knightley explained. “I wouldn’t be in any way fair to them, and I wouldn’t want to. I’ve chosen to have children, I want to bring them up, so I’ve had to take a major step back.”
Knightley went on to reflect on her years making the Pirates films, in which she starred as Elizabeth Swann. The actress credits the hit series of movies for making her into a household name but also cites the franchise’s popularity as “the reason that I was taken down publicly.”
“It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time,” Knightley said about the franchise, which also starred Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. “I was seen as shit because of them, and yet because they did so well I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for. They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of, and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head.”
The experience was so jarring that Knightley has no interest in returning to movie franchises: “The hours are insane. It’s years of your life, you have no control over where you’re filming, how long you’re filming, what you’re filming.”
While another film series is out of the question, Knightley is set to appear in the upcoming Netflix thriller series Black Doves, in which she plays a British spy entangled in a risky love affair. The Oscar nominee shared that she is now looking for roles that are “pure entertainment.”
“I’ve been really surprised in the past few years about what I’ve said no to,” Knightley told The Times. “I’ve wanted it to be more pure entertainment and maybe that’s because I’ve needed that. I keep being offered things about children dying or about mothers dying. Can’t do it.”
Black Doves will be available to stream on Netflix on Dec. 5.
