eira Knightley has some big Georgian-era boots to fill as Elizabeth Bennet. Tribute's Bonnie Laufer talked to the actress about the role and her hot career.


How much of a Jane Austen fan are you?
Huge. My favorite was always Pride and Prejudice. I had two dollhouses when I was tiny, one was called Longbourn and one was called Pemberley [the names of two estates in the novel]. The TV version came out when I was about 10 and I was absolutely obsessed with that.

There have been so many different takes on this story.
That's because it's brilliant. So therefore it's not like, "Oh my God, this can't be done again." Instead it's, "This is a fantastic thing so we can do something else with it." I think the true beauty of a brilliant book is that you can have a million different interpretations.

How difficult is it to play someone as well known and loved as Elizabeth Bennet?
It's difficult because people are very possessive of her, as I was. I had people I don't know come up to me and say, "You're not Elizabeth Bennet, I am." I tried to talk my agent into not letting me go for the part. I thought it was too early for me to be taking a role of this magnitude as my first lead. It was a risk I thought that I wasn't ready for. My agent just said, "Shut up," and that was me, through the door. I was terrified. But then you think, these characters don't come around every day and when they come up, you've just go to go for it.

What was the biggest challenge you faced with this character?
I'm challenged, hopefully, by every character that I do. That's the point. Otherwise your brain isn't engaged, and what's the fun? This was a character, a film, a process that I was so obsessed with. I'm in every scene except one or two. I was there all the time. I worked my socks off and absolutely loved it. I worked 12- to 14-hour days for three and half months, six days a week, without lunch breaks. It was completely crazy, but I loved it.

What was it like working with this cast?
What a cast to be surrounded by! You can't go wrong with Judi Dench, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn and Matthew Macfadyen. I was 19 when I did this film and I'd never worked with girls my own age before, never. So consequently I'm really good friends with the actresses who play my sisters in the film, too. It was just amazing.

Are you comfortable with how quickly your career is taking off?
No, never (laughs). I mean, I was asked if I still feel insecure and I think the answer is that you're never going to meet an actor who doesn't feel insecure. I will never be satisfied. I will always want to learn something. I'll always want to get better.

You're on magazine covers everywhere these days. How do you put this aside and just be Keira?
My job and my life are completely separate. I don't see the crossover. I'm obviously
being slightly delusional but I think it's a healthy delusion. I don't take any notice of it. I enjoy doing some of the [magazine] photo shoots. And I like looking at some of the pictures -- my mum has a pile of them at home. I don't deal with the whole people recognizing me in the street thing very well. I get terribly embarrassed.

What's the best advice anyone's ever given you?
You are still you. This is just your job.