10 Hit Movies Actors Thought Would Kill Their Careers
1. Keira Knightley - Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
In 2002 on the set of Christmas romantic comedy Love Actually, director Richard Curtis asked Kiera Knightley if she had any other projects lined up. "Some pirate thing," she answered "probably a disaster." After Knightley had wrapped on Love Actually she headed to Dominica to start work on this next project titled Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
This pre-production doubt bled into the actual filming process and Knightley recalls being on set and wondering "OK, what is this? Is this any good?" Elsewhere the higher ups at Disney were not happy with Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. Led by Michael Eisner, then head of Disney, they accused him of ruining the movie and asked if he was trying to make Sparrow appear like a simpleton, a drunk or gay.
With the studio bearing down on its main star, the script itself being based on a Disneyland ride and the lack of recent financial success within the pirate genre it was no wonder that journalists were predicting its failure. All this did nothing for Knightley's confidence in the film and her future career.
When Pirates of the Caribbean opened in July 2003 it came as a surprise to everyone when it grossed over $650 million. As the inevitable sequels were churned out after such a success, Knightley reprised her role of Elizabeth Swann several times but also managed to find success outside of the hit franchise with two Oscar nominations to her name.