Why Keira Knightley agreed to star in Netflix’s Black Doves after ruling out acting return for Pirates of the Caribbean

Despite ruling out an acting return for Pirates of the Caribbean, Keira Knightley may have just started Netflix’s newest multi-season franchise.

Knightley stars in Black Doves, Netflix’s new criminal-spy thriller, where she plays Helen, a former spy whose undercover position is compromised after an affair.

The premise in and of itself is enough to get you wanting to watch the entire six-episode season in one sitting.

The streamer clearly agree, because it was renewed for a second season before it even released, and have been vindicated by an uncontested week spent atop the charts.

Knightley has revealed in interviews why she signed on to the project despite stating in others why she didn’t want to return to big franchises like that in the future.

Why did Knightley say she didn’t want to take on a role in a big franchise?

Knightley spoke last month about how Pirates of the Caribbean led to years of therapy for her.

Talking to The Times she said: “I was seen as sh*t because of them, and yet because they did so well I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for.

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann (Disney)

“They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head.”

When asked about appearing on a film franchise again, she shut it down, saying: “The hours are insane. It’s years of your life. You have no control over where you’re filming, how long you’re filming, what you’re filming”.

Why did she take the role in Black Doves?

Based on this, it becomes fairly obvious why Knightley took on the lead role in Black Doves when you dig into the specifics.

Firstly, Knightley has since become such a big star in her own right separate to Pirates that she was commanded an Executive Producer credit, as well as starring alongside Ben Whishaw.

This would give her far more control, both creatively and logistically, which part-addresses her criticism of the shooting of film franchises.

The show was also shot in London, where Knightley lives with her husband and two kids, which is sure to be an enticing benefit.

She has also spoken in detail about enjoying the character of Helen, and the motivation that played in taking the part.

Keira Knightley in Black Doves (Netflix)

She told Town and Country Magazine: “I was looking for something that involved curious creatures doing strange things, and Helen’s definitely a curious creature and she's definitely doing strange things.

“She's a mercenary and a character with lots of contradictions. I enjoyed all of them”.

She also said in an interview with Queue that her character Helen and their relationship with platonic bestie Sam (played by Whishaw) was a major factor.

The pair spend the series interchangeably either bickering like siblings or murdering people in cold blood, and she said: “The juxtaposition of those things was quite excellent.

“That’s the reason that I wanted to work on this. The whole concept made me laugh.”