Keira Knightley Interview 3 by Martyn Palmer Previous Q So this is a different take on the Arthurian legend... A Totally. And it's absolutely fascinating. The script is such a page turner.. Q Presumably you aware of the story before you read the script? A Yes, I'm British so it's our heritage. I mean, I love it. I think it's very hard being British and not knowing the King Arthur legend. I've got so many books. There are some Aubrey Beardsley drawings that I've always been a big fan of, so I knew those as well. But yes, absolutely. But when I heard they were doing King Arthur, before I'd read the script, to be honest my first reaction was that I couldn't understand why they were doing it again. Q Why was that? A  Well, it was like `how many more versions can they have?' I thought it was pointless and then I read the script and it was like `ah, that hasn't been done...' And it hasn't. Because it has always been very mystical and magical, the way it's been written, which is fine, but this is trying to make a reality out of the myth, so forget the magic. I mean, yeah, the Picts were Pagans, and there are some tree spirits because that is what they believed in, but there is nothing like Merlin turning into an owl or something or the sword in the stone. It's specifically that there is a theory that the actual King Arthur, if he did exist, was a Roman general at the end of the Roman empire in Britain called Artorius and that's what we're going on. Q Have you read a lot of research? A I did read a lot because I'm interested in the subject anyway. But when you are doing something like this you can extremely obsessed with the research that's been done and then you can get a bit pissed off if they are not going for the research straight down the line (laughs). Q You mean it can be kind of distracting? A Yeah. So I got a rough outline of the period, I didn't delve into it too  deeply. And then I'm like `right, artistic license!' Basically you read what you can but then you have to go with the script because otherwise it would be impossible. It's funny, I love the myths, but they do vary - if you meet people from Scotland then Camelot was in Scotland, if you meet people from Cornwall, then Camelot was at Tintagel, others say it was in Gloucestershire. But it's good to give another take on it, our story is different and anyway, we've seen that First Knight sort of vibe. Q How did you get the role  of Guinevere? A I met Antoine for lunch in Los Angeles and we talked and I really liked him. And I thought that he was possibly one of the only people I'd met in America who had real artistic integrity. I'm desperate to do theatre and normally if you say that in Hollywood people laugh, but what he said to me was `if you want to do theatre don't let anyone stand in your way ` and automatically  I went `wow, God I didn't expect that..' He's a really, really cool guy and is very aware of the business as a whole and not just the big film blockbuster side of it which as an actor kind of makes you go `wicked, nice, this is a guy I  really respect..' Next		Home Interviews Antoine Fuqua Interview King Arthur Interview Arv Grewal Interview Asia Argento Interview Behind the Scenes of "War of the Worlds" Bernie Goldmann Interview Clive Owen Interview Dakota Fanning Interview Dennis Hopper Interview George A Romero Interview Greg Nicotero Interview The Hulk Press Conference Ang Lee Press Conference Ioan Gruffudd Interview John Leguizamo Interview Kathleen Kennedy Interview Keira Knightley Interview