INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Director John Carney Suggests Keira Knightley Is More A Supermodel Than Actress, Other Directors Disagree

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 03:04 PST, Jun 1, 2016

Keira Knightley was slammed by Irish director John Carney after their work together on Begin Again. Carney suggested that he would never work with Knightley again, and referred to her as a supermodel rather than an actress. Carney suggested that Knightley moved around with such an entourage that he could not connect with her in any meaningful way. But now, others in the industry are coming to Knightley’s defense, suggesting that she is quite talented, and their professional interactions with her have been stellar.

According to the Inquisitr, one of Keira Knightley’s first break-out roles was in the movie Love Actually. Though the movie was an ensemble, and her part was not a big one, Knightley stood out, and went on to bigger roles, like that in the movie Atonement. Knightley still speaks fondly of working with the cast on Love Actually back before she was 21.

The Daily Mail says that director Carney did not mince words when he spoke about being less than impressed with Keira Knightley’s acting. Carney used the word “disenchanted” when asked to describe his time working with Knightley.

“I didn’t enjoy that experience of paparazzi and fabulous openings. The movie star world is not something that ever appealed to me. I like working with actors and I wanted to come back to what I knew and enjoy film-making again.”

Carney explained that he prefers to work with real actors, and not dilettantes, and suggested that Knightley falls in the category of the latter.

“I like to work with curious, proper film actors as opposed to movie stars.”

The Independent is reporting that John Carney, a director and musician, says that after working with Keira Knightley, he will never work with “supermodels” again. Carney says that he has happily moved on to his next project, Sing Street, which is getting rave reviews.

“I’m very surprised; it’s a small personal movie with no Keira Knightleys in it. It’s really rewarding.”

Carney said he was glad to be back working in Ireland, because his time working in America, namely with “movie stars” like Keira Knightley, was disenchanting. Carney claimed that he prefers to work on films with names that nobody cares about.

Carney claims that Mark Ruffalo was fantastic, Adam Levine was a joy to work with, but he will never work with a supermodel (like Knightley) ever again. Carney suggests that Keira Knightley is not on the level of those true actors he is used to working with.

“I don’t want to rubbish Keira, but you know it’s hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don’t think she’s ready for yet and I certainly don’t think she was ready for on that film.”

But Vanity Fair says that other directors are leaping to the defense of Knightley, like director Mark Romanek, who suggested that Carney is an “arrogant s***head.” Romanek, who directed Knightley on the film, Never Let Me Go, tweeted madly in response to the criticism of Knightley.

“My experience with #keiraknightley was utterly spectacular on every level. I have no clue what this guy is talking about.”

In terms of an entourage, Romanek says he recalls Knightley’s mum visiting the set once or twice. Director Lorene Scafaria says that she agrees with Romanek, and claims that Knightley was easy to work with. She also said that Knightley was very good at her job, and just lovely.

Director Ava DuVernay, who has not worked with Knightley, claims that there will always be actors that directors don’t want to work with, and vice versa, but taking to the press is not the way to handle such disagreements professionally.

“There are actors that directors won’t call again for whatever reason. But don’t disparage them in the press. C’mon.”

Do you think that John Carney should have talked to the press about his conflict with Keira Knightley?

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

Share this article: Director John Carney Suggests Keira Knightley Is More A Supermodel Than Actress, Other Directors Disagree
Keira Knightley
More from Inquisitr