Keira Knightley reveals reason for feeling ‘fortunate'

Keira Knightley feels "fortunate" to have survived her early experiences of fame.

The 40-year-old actress has enjoyed a very successful career in the film industry, having starred in Bend It Like Beckham back in 2002 - but Keira acknowledges that her life and her career could've easily gone in another direction.

Speaking to The Independent, Keira explained: "The adult me is very aware that people can go through very difficult periods in their life, and they do not come out of it with a very successful career and a very healthy bank balance. I feel incredibly fortunate."

The Pride and Prejudice star also acknowledged that she's now achieved a level of respect from the public that didn't exist during her teenage years.

"I think being a 40-year-old woman, people have a different response to you than when you’re 18. That’s just the way the world is,” she said.

Keira added, "When you’re 18, you haven’t got much work, you’re all image. When you have a career that’s 25 years long, and you’ve got enough stuff to be like, ‘Well, that’s a body of work; some worked, some didn’t’ – people can look, and go, ‘That’s a career.’"

Meanwhile, the Black Doves talent previously claimed that there's "an inherent rage to actors."

Keira Knightley told the Guardian newspaper: "I think there’s an inherent rage to actors. I see that quite a lot. Masked brilliantly but easy to access.”

"Not that people behave badly, because generally they don’t. But there’s a well of anger that opens very quickly,” she concluded.