Keira comes of age

Do you enjoy this kind of film more than, for instance, Pirates of the Caribbean?

Keira Knightley: Pirates was an amazing experience but it is what it is. It's a glass of champagne, it's a fun ride. It's a family movie that's about action. Elizabeth Swann is an action figure really. She fights monsters and kids love it. That's lovely but as far as being an actress goes, if you're looking for a little bit of intellectual stimulation in work then it's really lovely to do something based on such a beautiful book like Atonement where you can really just dive into it and explore. It's wonderful to do films that are just pure entertainment and there is a very valid place for that, but it was a wonderful antidote to do something like Atonement after it.

You have worked a lot over the last few years. Do you have time for a personal life?

Keira Knightley: I do but I like to work hard. I like to be pushed as much as possible. I was really lucky in the early part of this year as I didn't take a film for the first six months so I wasn't away from home, which was really important. A big part of the job is travel and as much as I love it, it's difficult to spend time away from your family so it was really important to take the six months and just stay in London and try and get normality there. I am trying to work a little bit more in London again for family reasons.

What do you like to do with your free time?

Keira Knightley: Normal stuff. I just love being home and making your own tea and having a toaster and things like that. It's being able to cook for yourself instead of having to eat in a restaurant. It's all those things. It's buying food from your local market and going to the cinema. Just the normal things that you don't get to do when you're sitting in a hotel room on your own having room service.

Is it more difficult to do normal, everyday things now?

Keira Knightley: Well, yes. I'm looked at a lot more but I think it would be horrendous if you just stopped going out because of that. I couldn't imagine doing that. I wouldn't want to hire somebody to go to do things for me. I mean, can you imagine (laughs)? I think you've got to do day-to-day things. You have to go, 'Okay well deal with it. It's fine,' and carry on.

Is it easy to escape the celebrity culture and people watching you?

Keira Knightley: The act of being watched is very strange. It's a sort of form of living madness really, because you're walking down the street and somebody is following you and that person is looking at you and you think your name is being whispered. Normally, that would mean that you have a psychological problem but in my case it's reality, and very strange. I love my job and I love acting but I would absolutely love it if I could be completely anonymous and just walk around. I think anybody can understand that. The reality is that I'm not going to get that so you just have to weigh it up and say 'I love what I do so put up with it and when you can't put up with it give it up.'

Are your parents proud of you?

Keira Knightley: I hope so. They haven't said that they're not. They're incredibly honest, which sometimes isn't necessarily what you want, but I really value them for that. They're incredibly supportive, they obviously see a reality to the business which isn't what is projected so it's great to be able to talk to them.

What do you make of people like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan - these people who are always on magazine covers for no apparent reason?

Keira Knightley: I don't think they're part of my job (laughs). I think they can definitely answer that question better than me. When I do magazine shoots it's always to sell a film and it is always very clearly for that. I don't really read magazines that are about celebrity culture. It's not what interests me.

What about celebrity culture in general?

Keira Knightley: I don't particularly like it. It's not anything that interests me. I don't see the positives in it. My mum always told me that gossip was not a good thing so I don't participate in it.