Keira Knightley emanates the essence of a character sprung from the pages of a timeless novel. Her graceful, swan-like neck, aristocratic pout, and chiseled jawline became her assets, brilliantly employed in a series of historical films that came to define her early 2000s career.
Portraying Lizzie Bennet in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, she infused England’s iconic literary heroine with both the spirited determination of the 19th century and an enchanting yet assertive allure, enhanced by her distinctive underbite. Surprisingly, the same actress who masterfully brought literary characters to cinematic life once grappled with a reading disability.
Keira Knightley Took Inspiration From Emma Thompson
A passion for acting flowed through Keira Knightley’s veins, inherited from her parents: thespian Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald. Even as young as 3, Knightley held a strong desire for representation. However, by the age of 6, she received a dyslexia diagnosis, it is not uncommon for anyone to have Dyslexia. In fact, Tom Cruise, Tom Holland, and even Steven Spielberg have it. In an interview with The Boston Globe, Knightley revealed that her parents struck a deal with her: she would be granted an agent if she committed to reading daily during her summer break.
” And then it was ‘OK, if you keep up your grades and improve your grades, you’re allowed to act during summer holidays, but if you drop your grades you’re not allowed to act and go up for parts…I was so single-minded about acting…I drove myself into the ground trying to get over dyslexia and when I finished school I had the top grades.”
Beyond her dedication to literature, Knightley also immersed herself in the world of scripts from an early age. She found herself drawn to the works of another audacious British actress, Emma Thompson. Following her dyslexia diagnosis, Knightley’s mother suggested she engage with Thompson’s screenplay for Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Macdonald, who collaborated with Thompson on the 1995 production, presented Knightley with a copy of the script. In an interview with GQ, Knightley revealed that this script became her cherished possession.
As Knightley progressed into her secondary education, her struggles with dyslexia began to wane, becoming more of a distant memory. Excelling in her studies, she burst onto the scene with her breakthrough performance at 17 in Bend It Like Beckham. This was closely followed by her lead role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, an unexpectedly triumphant blockbuster rooted in a Disneyland theme park attraction.
Keira Knightley’s Director Also Has Dyslexia
Knightley’s close associate, Joe Wright, who directed her in films like Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, and Anna Karenina, also shares the challenge of dyslexia. Reflecting on their collaboration in an interview with Vulture, Wright acknowledged that their shared experience might have fostered a special connection, as both of them must exert more effort than those without a reading disability. Wright, unable to speed read due to his dyslexia, emphasized how he must meticulously contemplate the material at hand.
Wright and Knightley have both diligently surmounted the challenges posed by their reading disabilities. Moreover, their journey showcases the remarkable truth that alternative avenues for comprehending and crafting art exist, even in the face of difficulties in engaging with literature.
Source: The Boston Globe
