When you are just starting to set yourself down and find your footing in your field of profession, a piece of advice from an elder or someone who has experience in that field can prove vital for you. The same goes for the Hollywood industry, where advice can be invaluable, and stars like Keira Knightley take the utmost advantage of those bits of advice to make the most of their career opportunities.
Having worked with some of the biggest stars as well as filmmakers in her illustrious career, their insights into films and decisions that need to be taken with certain considerations are what made her such a successful actress in the industry. But this one time, she opened up about not following one of those advice that later proved to be the wrong one given by one of the greatest directors of all time.
David Cronenberg Revealed That He Gave The Wrong Advice To Keira Knightley
Receiving or giving advice to someone can be a double-edged sword since every piece of information cannot be right for a person depending on the situation where it may be used. Therefore, we have to make educated decisions if we are to take the right step forward, something that actress Keira Knightley knew very well, which saved her role in her critically acclaimed romance/drama film Anna Karenina. This was an advice that was given by none other than the legendary director David Cronenberg himself, which he later accepted to be the wrong call.
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In a past interview with Interview Magazine, the Pirates of The Caribbean actress was having a chat with the filmmaker as they were promoting their then-upcoming film A Dangerous Method, and in that film, she played the role of a Russian woman similar to the nationality of her character in Anna Karenina which she had just wrapped up filming. And in that movie, she decided not to have a thick Russian accent for her character, something which she felt was right. Hearing this, Cronenberg heaved a sigh of relief as he was the one who had advised her to put that accent for this film.
When he looked back at it, he realized that it was a bad idea for her since the natural appeal of the film would be disturbed by imitating an accent. He said:
“Yeah, I’m so glad you didn’t, though. I feel very possessive now of both Sabina [Spielrein, Knightley’s character in A Dangerous Method] and you. I can’t bear the idea of you working with other directors. I’m assuming that constantly on the set, secretly you were thinking, Oh, god . . . David wouldn’t have done it that way.”
Therefore, taking into consideration the circumstances and situation into account, she decided not to follow the advice, which proved to be a boon in disguise for her character.
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What Was Anna Karenina About?
Adapted from the classic literary work by the same name written by legendary Russian author Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina tells the tale of the titular character, a woman who is the wife of a Russian Imperial Minister named Alexei. The story continues with the minister finding himself in a scandal after Anna’s affair with cavalry officer Count Vronsky comes to light.
Now, since her husband and the whole house have to face shame from society, Anna is given two choices. Either she has to go into exile with the Count and never show her face again to her son, or she would have to stay with them and abide by their rules.
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Anna Karenina, available on Apple TV.
Source: Interview Magazine
