Keira Knightley Interview, The Duchess

MoviesOnline had the pleasure of sitting down with Keira Knightley at the Toronto International Film Festival to talk about her new film, “The Duchess,” directed by Saul Dibb.

Long before the concept existed, the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley), was the original “It Girl.” Like her direct descendent Princess Diana, she was ravishing, glamorous and adored by an entire country. Determined to be a player in the wider affairs of the world, she proved that she could out-gamble, out-drink and outwit most of the aristocratic men who surrounded her. She helped usher in sweeping changes to England as a leader of the forward-thinking Whig Party. But even as her power and popularity grew, she was haunted by the fact that the only man in England she seemingly could not seduce was her very own husband, the Duke (Ralph Fiennes). And when she tried to find her own way to be true to her heart and loyal to her duty, the resulting controversies and convoluted liaisons would leave all of London talking.

“The Duchess” is the story of an extraordinary woman who rose to fame by staying true to her passions in a world of protocol, gossip and social rules – and paid the price.

Academy Award nominee Knightley and Academy Award nominee Fiennes head an international cast that also includes Dominic Cooper as the abolitionist Charles Grey, the Duchess’s favorite lover; Hayley Atwell as the Duchess’s alluring best friend and rival, Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Spencer; and Charlotte Rampling as the Duchess’s mother, the Lady Spencer.

Keira Knightley is a fabulous person and we really appreciated her time. Here’s what she had to tell us about “The Duchess”:

Q: This is one of those great roles.  What was your response when you first read the script?  Did you know anything about The Duchess?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I’d never heard of her before, no.  So the script came through my door with three very large huge white ostrich feathers attached, with a gold ribbon.  And I thought, “Oh, I don’t care what it is.  That’s fantastic.”  And then I read it.  And I know I just thought that she was fabulous.  You know, I thought she was a fascinating character.  This idea of this woman who’s politically so influential, and this huge fashion icon, and such a force of nature, and yet privately is somebody who is so intensely vulnerable and incredibly lonely.  And I thought, you know, the combination of those two things were sort of fascinating.

Q:  Were you worried at all that you’d be able to pull it off? 

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Oh, yeah.  I mean, I think there’s always that worry.  I think – you know, you have to face failure.  And particularly if you’re an actress or an actor – you know, sometimes things aren’t going to go the way that you hope they will.  But that’s part of what’s so exciting about the job, you know?  And I don’t really want to do things that I don’t find challenging.  So yes, there’s always a huge fear that it’s going to be awful, and I’m going to be crap, and all the rest of it.  But you might as well go for it anyway.

Q:  Could you identify with the notion that even in the 1700s, it appeared that the public was obsessed with so-called celebrities.  Do you identify with the kind of parallels that this film is making with today?  Especially you, being in the public eye?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I certainly don’t look for autobiographical work.  So I wasn’t looking to draw any parallels with myself whatsoever.  I thought, yes, it was interesting.  I thought that celebrity culture was a modern phenomenon.  It’s fascinating to find out that it was around 300 years ago.  I sort of thought it was kind of the least interesting aspect of the story, in a funny kind of way, though.  I mean, I thought that the way that she used it, the manipulation of image and everything, I thought that was very interesting.  What it was saying about the kind of mental state—that as the marriage started collapsing, she needed more and more and more attention from complete strangers, was an interesting sort of – this sounds like a psychological aspect to the character.  But no, I wasn’t trying to draw any parallels to myself.

Q:  What was your reaction when you read the script and realized you were going to play a woman who has to live with the other woman in the same house?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Yeah, I thought it was very interesting dynamics between the characters, definitely.  You know, the idea of living with a husband that you absolutely don’t understand.  Almost like two magnets repelling each other.  That there is no point of comfort between two people.  It was really interesting with Ralph to kind of explore that.  The betrayal of your best friend, and then having to sort of live with this woman, and go from a very intense friendship into hatred, and back to a kind of mutual respect for one another.  I thought that that was an interesting journey, as far as a friendship between two women go.  I mean, yes, it’s a horrendous situation that she finds herself in.  But what I sort of found quite inspiring was the fact that she survives.  She doesn’t survive without scars, but she does actually get through it.  I thought that was an extraordinary thing.

Q:  So you don’t see her as a victim?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I didn’t like to think of her as a victim.  I don’t think victims are particularly attractive, in that kind of—as a character trait, you know?  But what happens to her is horrendous.  So, I think what both Ralph and I were very conscious of is not making it into a victim-villain storyline.  And yes, she’s horrendously oppressed, and all the rest of it.  But I think actually, fundamentally, she’s a survivor.

Q:  At the beginning of the film, the Duchess and Fox have a conversation where she describes freedom as an absolute, that there can’t be scales of it.  And the theme of the film seems to belie that.  In fact, all the characters in the film spend most of the time encountering the scales of freedom that they’re allowed to have. How it was to have to play that internally?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I’d never actually thought of that.  You’re completely right.  It’s all about freedom in moderation.  You’re completely right.  And no, it is – I think it’s always – it’s a wonderful kind of engine to propel a character through a storyline, when you have somebody who’s constantly trying to break out of boxes, and constantly being pushed back into them.  And I think that that was very much sort of the motion, if you like, of this character and of a lot of the characters all the way through.  Well done.  I hadn’t thought of that.

Q:  It struck me again in the scene at the very end, essentially her last interaction with the Duke, where he shows the most sort of affection, physically and emotionally.  He watching the children play and remarks how nice it must be to have that degree of freedom.  I think in that instance, she recognizes something that she’s never recognized before, which is that his freedom is also limited.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I think it’s the first moment of any kind of understanding between them, really.  And it was a really – I mean – and it goes to show how wonderful Ralph is, I think.  Because on the page, you know – and this isn’t to do down the script in any way.  But it could have very easily been played as somebody who is very simply evil and bad, and all the rest of it. 

Q:  It’s her perspective?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  It is – it is her perspective, absolutely.  But I think the fact that he managed to make him strangely sympathetic.  And it’s not – you know, not to – you can’t forget about what he’s done.  But you do kind of sympathize.  And I think at that moment, you do realize that it’s two people that just don’t understand each other at all.  At all.  And all of a sudden there’s a moment where she sees him, probably for the first time, as a human being.  As opposed to kind of a failure of what she wanted him to be.  You know.

Q:  Every time we’ve seen you for the last few times, it’s been for a period drama.  You always get asked about your affinity for period dramas.  Are you at the point where you want to try to do something more modern?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  What, just because people keep asking me about period films?

Q:  Well, just for your own personal gratification?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  No.  No, I think it would – you’d be cutting your nose off to spite your face if you turned down a fantastic script and a fantastic character simply because it was set 200 years ago.  I mean, apart from, I think period films now means anything from ten years ago to the beginning of time.  So – you know.  I mean, no.  I do love period films, personally.  I love the fact that you can escape into a completely different reality.  I think for me, what I love about film is that it’s complete escapism.  And I find personally that seeing these costumes, these weird societies, helps me to forget my life, and actually just dive into the story.  So I think that’s why as an actress, I like being in them, as well.  It’s a way into a fantastic fantasy world.

Q:  What about the Dylan Thomas movie?  I know that you shot it a while ago, and I was curious if you knew what was going on with that?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  It’s got American distribution, so I think it’s coming out next year here.

Q:  Obviously your character, Georgina, was a progressive woman, and the world owes a bit to her today.  How do you think things have changed for women today because of her?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I don’t know if it’s changed because of her.

Q:  Well, do you think she influenced, for example, the women’s right to vote?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  No.  I mean, it came up – what, 200 years later?  So, no.  I mean, no.  But I think she was an impressive woman.  And I think that it was fascinating that at a point where women were very much, you know, sort of the property of their fathers and then their husbands, that she actually managed to – and obviously didn’t have the right to vote – that she did get so passionately involved in politics.  You know, it’s a kind of fascinating thing, of somebody who actually has no power, and no kind of – no – very few freedoms, if you’re going back to that, that she was actually so, so passionate about it.

Q:  And are things today the same as they were back then?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Well, I mean, I think if you’re going back to the celebrity thing, then it’s quite interesting that – you know, what we still do today, is we put women up on a pedestal, and we pick apart exactly what they wear and what they look like.  The fact that we haven’t moved on from that is quite interesting, I suppose.

Q:  Speaking of what you wear, you mentioned the costumes as being an element to that.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Yeah.

Q:  How did they effect how the characters interact?  Because I don’t know what those hip extensions are called, that are under –

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Panniers.

Q:  Panniers?  But you can’t whisper in somebody’s ear.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  [laughs] No.

Q:  You can’t even get close enough.  So that creates a whole different dynamic in terms of just how you move through a room?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Oh, yeah, definitely.

Q:  How does that create the interaction, or affect the interaction of the characters?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I don’t know.  I mean – I don’t know.  They are – they do completely change the way you hold yourself.  The way you walk, the way you breathe, therefore the way you talk.  You know, they change everything about you.  So it’s sort of – it’s a fabulous way to get into character.  If you’ve got such an extreme costume.  You know, it’s amazing.  I mean, as far as interaction goes.  I’m not quite sure – it’s quite obvious why we were called the weaker sex.  Because it’s – you know, you can’t breathe.  So, a lack of oxygen to the brain was obviously quite a difficult thing. 

Q:  The press materials go to length to link this to Princess Diana, and it’s subtle through the pages of the book. Did it inform your understanding of the character at all?  What kind of parallels do you draw between Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire, and Princess Diana?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I really didn’t – I didn’t.  I mean, I think I was about 11 when she died.  And, you know, I’m very aware of the images, but not really aware of exactly what her story is.  And certainly not enough to be able to draw direct parallels.  I mean, I didn’t look into her as any sort of – I suppose “inspiration” for the character, partly because we were basing it on such a wonderful biography, so all the information that we had was right there.  So – I mean, we very definitely did intend to make a film about Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire, not Diana.  You know? 

Q:  It’s a compelling story in its own right, but the people who are promoting the film are beating that message over our head, while no one involved in the film seems to be aware of it.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Well, then there, you see the difference between marketing people and the people that made the film.  [laughs]

Q:  Keira, two things.  I understand, one, that you insisted that they not give a boob job to the poster.  Is that true?  I read that.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I don’t remember anybody asking me – telling me that they wanted to give a boob job to the poster.  So – I’m glad they didn’t. 

Q:  That’s not true – you didn’t say that?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  No, I’d love to say that I was really strident and went, “Absolutely not.”  But I don’t remember it ever coming up, which is rather nice.

Q:  Okay.  And the other thing is, I think Paul Newman, in the current Vanity Fair, it’s a retrospective piece on him, talked about celebrity as being like a death of the soul.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Yeah, I read that.

Q:  You’re one of the few people that, since you came out in Bend It Like Beckham, you’ve been a star.  I wonder how you see celebrity with your life.  Now that it’s been six years of being this famous person, is it something you’d like to shed, or disappear from occasionally?  Or is it a wonderful thing that’s happened to you, that made your life so much better?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I think Paul Newman’s description is quite accurate.  I’d agree with him.  I mean, he’s been around a lot longer than I have.  So, yeah.

Q:  And would you relate royalty and celebrities today?  How we treat – you know, celebrities, and how they treat royalty?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Is it the same?

Q:  Yeah.  If you see some part of it the same.  Celebrities and royalty.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I don’t know.  I don’t know.  I think royals have more security guards.  [LAUGHTER]

Q:  The film is so sumptuous because it was shot on location in those incredible stately homes.  Did being in that environment make you think about the incredible division of wealth and power in that era?  Did you have any sort of political awakening?  Or was there a sort of socialist alarm bell that went off in your brain?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  If I had a political awakening, I certainly wouldn’t share it with you.  But, no, I mean, the houses were – I mean, they were extraordinary.  And actually, as far as helping with the characters go, it was – the sheer vastness of them really helped with the isolation, particularly, of Georgina.  So it was wonderful to actually see, and get the opportunity to film in them, as opposed to building a set.  You know, that was really good.

Q:  Georgina expressed herself to some extent through the way that she dressed. How do you express yourself? Is it through the way that you dress, the way that you speak, or the way that you dance?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  God, I have no idea.  I honestly don’t know.  I’m terribly sorry, I haven’t got a clue.  Sorry.

Q:  What do you do to express yourself?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  What do I do to express myself?

Q:  Yeah.  What do you do, sort of best?  Acting, dancing?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I suppose – yeah, acting, I suppose.  But I don’t really like to think of it as a form of self expression.  It’s about exploring other people.  So I’m not sure.  Shall I make a stupid comment and just say “dancing” for the hell of it?

Q:  Keira, what are the kinds of challenges you face in finding really good characters to sink your teeth into, and what do you have coming out next?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Coming up next, I don’t know.  I’ve got Edge of Love coming out in America soon.  As far as challenges – could be anything.  You know.  I mean, I think actually doing a contemporary piece will be a challenge.  I think what I love is escaping into characters. Like I said, I’m not looking for a form of self-expression, and I’m not looking for autobiographical material.  I feel much more comfortable and able to kind of relax into a character if they’re as far away from me as possible.  So I suppose the closer a character comes to me, the more challenging I actually – in a funny kind of way, I think I’d find it.  So maybe doing something contemporary, and in the same – I don’t know, something that’s quite close to me might be actually quite difficult.

Q:  Given that you are wonderful playing characters further away from who you are, how did you feel about playing the Duchess?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  What, you think that I’m like her?

Q:  Well, the director does.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Right.  Okay.  I don’t.  [Laughter] There you go.

Q:  Did you read the book or the script first?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I read the script first, and then the book a couple of times, and then worked on the script.

Q:  Do you find in your performance that you were trying to stay more to the script, as the book does a lot more?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  Yeah.  I mean, obviously the difficulty of making films that are biographies is that, you know, you’ve got so, so much.  Like a wealth of information there.  But you do actually have to be very specific about the story you’re telling, because you’ve only got two hours to tell it.  You know, and it can get very muddled.  It’s the same with the character as well.  You know.  I mean, it was wonderful having the book, and the letters, and everything.  But really, you have to make the script.  Everybody has to be on exactly the same page with what they’re making.  So you always have to stick to the script.  But it’s just wonderful to have that kind of backup.  You know, because you can pull such wonderful things out of the book.  And even things that, you know, you wouldn’t necessarily directly see on the screen.  Just to have things in the back of your head is really helpful.

Q:  Speaking of the back of your head, was your wig actually on fire?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  No.  No, it wasn’t.  No, Saul wanted to set the wig on fire on my head.  And I was actually quite up for it.  And I think then the insurance people said, “You’ve shot half the movie.  And if she goes up in flames, then we’re not going to be able to finish it.  So you’re not allowed.”  So it is actually computer graphics.

Q:  Can you see doing Georgina later, in a sequel?  Because the book’s 500 pages.
 
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  No.  Do you know what?  I think it should be a TV series.  I think you could do so much. The producers in the back of the room are saying, “Do a TV series.  You get lots of money.”  [LAUGHTER] No.  I mean, I think there’s so many stories within it, that – yeah, it would be great.  I think there should be five films made out of it.  It would be wonderful.

Q:  Would you do the TV series?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  No, I think I’ve played her once.  I don’t think I need to play her again.

Q:  What about working with the kids?  Did you spend a lot of time with the kids, the little girls?  You really take a motherly role, which I’m not sure you’ve actually done before.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I’ve done it a couple of times, actually.  They were great kids, though.  They were really, really lovely.  I was very lucky.  They were fantastic.  So. yes, they were great. 

Q:  You’ve played a mother before?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  I have played a mother before.  I think I’ve had about six kids, or something ridiculous.  Yeah.  It’s quite impressive.

Q: Would you like to have children of your own?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY:  What, of my own?  Oh, I don’t want one, thanks.  I’m all right.  I mean, you know, never say never.  And maybe at some point down the road, but not right now. I’m fine.  Thank you very much.

“The Duchess” opens in theaters on September 19th.