Keira Knightley’s talent knows no bounds. She has showcased it through her number of iconic roles, with examples like Pride and Prejudice, Love Actually, Atonement, and her work in the Star Wars franchise. Despite these notable projects, there is one particular series that helped skyrocket the actress’ career and helped establish her as a true talent and that is the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Her role as Elizabeth Swann was truly one of the most iconic from the Disney franchise, second to that of Jack Sparrow, of course.
Swann has a very well-known trait. That of jumping and almost drowning in bodies of water. While it is a funny joke in the film series, the same lack of sensitivity may not be applicable in real-life situations. What many might not know is that an incident took place after the shooting of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl that nearly killed Knightley and two others. The entire situation was so serious that the rules of shooting were completely changed to make sure it never happened again.
Keira Knightley Almost Died
The Pirates of the Caribbean is mainly based on the islands and the waters of the Caribbean, therefore the name. To have as authentic an experience as possible, a big chunk of the shooting was also done there. What is a factor that the crew seems to have overlooked is that a lot can go wrong when a film is shot on the vast waters of the sea. That is exactly what happened one night when Keira Knightley was coming back home after a late shoot.
The actress used a boat as her mode of transport and was accompanied by her mother and the boat’s skipper. Unfortunately, the boat ended up hitting a reef and started to go down, endangering the lives of all who were aboard. While all three of them were safe, having been reduced after a few hours, the severity of the situation could not have been ignored.
Keira Knightley Ended Up Changing How The Studio Did Night Shoots
It is safe to say that the entire situation that Keira Knightley, her mother, and the boat’s skipper went through was very serious and could have easily been life-threatening and fatal. The three ended up waiting for around forty-five minutes, waist-deep in water, as the actress told Spin. Naturally, the studio could not let things get swept under a carpet and ignore what happened.
“I don’t know how anyone ever dealt with being lost on a desert island … Forty-five minutes awaiting rescue while being stranded waist-deep in water was quite enough.”
Disney ended up taking a very extreme decision of terminating night shoots on the islands of the Caribbean Sea completely. Concerned for the safety of their employees, they decided to, instead, shoot any scenes that required such a backdrop in the studio instead of in reality. They decided to let go of their want for authenticity and focus more on the safety of those who work for them.
