The 12 Best Keira Knightley Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

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After kicking off her film career with a few small roles — including playing a "Star Wars" character you likely forgot existed – Keira Knightley wasted no time becoming a full-fledged movie star. She didn't even bother waiting until she was out of her teenage years to do so. By the time she was 20, Knightley had already done a "Star Wars" movie, a half billion dollar-grossing Disney adventure movie, a future holiday classic, and played legacy character Queen Guinevere. And she was just getting started. 

In fact, Knightley has been a part of so many strong films and television shows that we found no trouble leaving off the aforementioned holiday classic, "Love Actually" — and the controversial, stalker-esque scene that she got stuck being a part of — because it's not even among her best work. Herein lies the best films, as well as a television series, that Knightley has been a part of, taking into consideration both the overall project and Knightley's performance in particular. 

Telling a fictionalized version of the complicated relationships between pioneering psychologists Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), "A Dangerous Method" goes especially heavy on creative liberties in its presumptions about the sexual relationship that allegedly developed between Jung and Spielrein. And although director David Cronenberg tried to downplay the eroticism of that relationship by insisting that it was meant to be clinical rather than titillating, he knew what he was doing, and so did Fassbender and Knightley.

Indeed, Knightley's performance as Spielrein showcases how brave the actor can be and how far she's willing to throw herself into a role. Cronenberg often makes Knightley's face the focal point while Spielrein is being "treated" by Jung, and the way she knows how to display the conflicted overlap between shame and excitement is a masterclass. As it often goes in this misogynistic industry — even more ironic given what "A Dangerous Method" is about — the bulk of the accolades and acting awards disproportionately went to Fassbender and Mortensen, but Knightley owns every scene she is in here.

Cast: Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen

Director: David Cronenberg

Year: 2011

Rating: R

Runtime: 99 minutes

Where to watch: Kanopy

Alex Garland is one of our most underrated sci-fi screenwriters, pushing the genre in fascinating new directions and melding it with other genres to create entirely new categories of film. And one of his most overlooked gems is "Never Let Me Go," his 2010 dystopian drama about a world where science has helped to extend the average human lifespan well beyond 100 years old.

But the methods that make such a thing possible don't come without a horrible trade-off, and former boarding school classmates Kathy H (Carey Mulligan), Tommy D (Andrew Garfield), and Ruth C (Keira Knightley) come to learn that they play a tragic role in the mechanisms that allow others to live longer. We won't spoil it if you haven't seen the film yet, but just be aware that "Never Let Me Go" has one of the bleakest endings in sci-fi movie history. Even so, it's a must watch for fans of sci-fi, daring to be different and more poetic in its delivery, as well as for fans doing a deep dive into Knightley's work. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield

Director: Mark Romanek

Year: 2010

Rating: R

Runtime: 103 minutes

Where to watch: Disney+

It's hard to believe that Keira Knightley was only 17 when she filmed "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl." Not only did she already have the screen presence of an actress at least five years her senior, but she was able to hold her own with absolute heavyweights for scene partners like Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. She plays Elizabeth Swann, a girl who had lived a life of comfort and luxury until going on a fun pirate adventure, which she soon finds that it is more dangerous than she had bargained for.

There's no denying that Knightley wasn't the same after the movie's huge success, with it taking a toll on both her career and her personal life. Being a 17 year old isn't easy as it is, never mind trying to be a 17 year old who is suddenly the star of a massively successful film and the target of tabloids and internet trolls. Her feelings about the movie are conflicted as a result, and she can hardly be blamed for that, but "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" is still a fun high seas adventure and she's a delight to watch in it. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush

Director: Gore Verbinski

Year: 2003

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 143 minutes

Where to watch: Disney+

Keira Knightley seems to jump at the chance to play an important woman in history, particularly one who fought hard for the advancement of feminism. And she got to do that once again in 2020 when she played activist Sally Alexander in the dramedy "Misbehaviour." Alexander joined a group of female college students who protested the 1970 Miss World beauty pageant for being nothing more than an excuse to parade young women across a stage for male objectification.

While "Misbehaviour" tells a rather glossy version of the real events that transpired around the protest and its aftermath, smoothing over the rough edges in service of an easily digestible, feel-good story of triumph over adversity, it's still a well-made film — and Knightley is excellent as Alexander. As hard as this is for the older of us to believe, 1970 is now over 50 years ago, and movies like this go a long way in keeping these types of historical events alive that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle of bigger or more tragic moments. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessie Buckley

Director: Phillipa Lowthorpe

Year: 2020

Rating: Not rated

Runtime: 106 minutes

Where to watch: Tubi, The Roku Channel

Movies don't get much more narratively ambitious than "Atonement," which covers a roughly 60-year time span within just over two hours worth of movie. It was the second collaboration between Keira Knightley and director Joe Wright after "Pride & Prejudice" — and in fact, those were his first two theatrical films. It's safe to say he found a muse in Knightley, and the results speak for themselves. With "Atonement," Wright directed a movie with nearly double the Oscar nominations of his previous film, and Knightley now gets to brag that she is in one of the best World War II movies of all time.

Had "Atonement" not had the misfortunate of competing against both "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood," it likely would've swept the Oscars that year, and almost certainly taken best picture. It's an incredible achievement, with Knightley and James McAvoy playing young lovers torn about by a rumor but are offered a second chance when they cross paths again during World War II. It not only holds its own against any other war epic or sweeping period romance, but nearly stands alone in the space where the two intersect. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan

Director: Joe Wright

Year: 2007

Rating: R

Runtime: 123 minutes

Where to watch: Available to rent or purchase through Amazon Video and Apple TV

Though it wasn't her first movie, there's no denying that Keira Knightley's breakthrough role was in the 2002 sports movie "Bend It Like Beckham." A wonderful little gem of a movie, it follows a teenager named Jess (Parminder Nagra) whose dreams of playing soccer are stifled by the disapproval of her parents. But when she meets a semi-pro player named Jules (Knightley) who sees potential in Jess's budding skills, Jules convinces her to give soccer a shot even if it means a series of increasingly elaborate ruses to hide the training from her parents. 

Much has been written about "Bend It Like Beckham" being queer coded, and heavily suggesting romantic feelings between Jess and Jules without ever seeing those feelings actually manifest. Others argue that a movie should be able to revolve around two females bonding and becoming friends without it meaning they want to date each other. But the fact that this light, breezy, charming little sports movie has inspired so much complex debate only speaks to how good it truly is, and how much it has connected — and continues to connect — with audiences, for a variety of reasons. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra, Archie Panjabi

Director: Gurinder Chadha

Year: 2002

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 112 minutes

Where to watch: Disney+

After having started under a different title — seeing its first festival screenings as the much wordier "Can A Song Save Your Life?" — "Begin Again" joined the pantheon of movies about two people bonding over their love of music as they spend time together swapping favorite songs, bands, and playlists. And with all due respect to "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," "Begin Again" just might be the ultimate example of such a movie.

Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley have ridiculously charming chemistry as producer Dan and songwriter Gretta, respectively. Even so, this isn't a love story. One of the things that makes "Begin Again" special is that it doesn't go the easy route of having Dan and Gretta fall in love in the end. Instead, they are just forming a platonic friendship while also helping each other rediscover their flagging passion for creating art. They flirt, sure, but that's not what it's about, nor should it be. The movie is so magical that it even elicits a surprisingly strong performance from Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine, whose previous detours into acting seemed to suggest he wasn't cut out for it. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine

Director: Joe Carney

Year: 2013

Rating: R

Runtime: 104 minutes

Where to watch: Tubi, Roku Channel

Here's yet another example of Keira Knightley not only playing a real person, but absolutely nailing it in doing so. In "Official Secrets," the real person in question is Katharine Gun, a British government linguist who leaked top secret information to the friend of a journalist in the hopes that its publication would disrupt the impending 2003 invasion of Iraq. Whistleblowers, particularly those going against a government, always know how steep the repercussions will surely be if they proceed with their actions, and have to be willing to reconcile that with the greater good that is hopefully achieved in the process.

Knightley delivers one of her best dramatic performances as Gun, portraying exactly those struggles and conflicts as she first decides if she should do it, and then putting on a brave face as she deals with the consequences of doing it. So strong was her work in "Official Secrets" that some critics believed it might cause those who supported the war in Iraq to still feel that Gun did the right thing and laud her for her convictions. Her performance was also highly praised even among the small percentage of critics who otherwise didn't like the film — and it was certainly a small percentage. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode

Director: Gavin Hood

Year: 2019

Rating: R

Runtime: 112 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix, Roku Channel

Though her work has been primarily in film, Keira Knightley has done some television here and there, both before she became an A-list movie star and after. But the majority of it is forgettable, save for one huge exception — her most recent TV appearance, in fact. Debuting on Netflix in November 2024, "Black Doves" is an excellent spy thriller that stands among Knightley's best work on the small or big screen.

Helen Webb (Knightley) is a secret agent who works for the titular organization and is about to have her identity exposed to the most dangerous criminals in London. Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) is an old friend and new partner who is tasked with helping to protect her as she becomes an open target. Her work in the show earned Knightley her first ever Golden Globe nomination for television for best lead actress in a drama series. At only six episodes, it's an easy binge, but it would've been just as hard to turn "Black Doves" off even if it were twice as long. To that end, it must be noted that all of this praise is only for the show's first season, which is all that has aired thus far. Season 2 was already greenlit before Season 1 even debuted, but a release window has yet to be confirmed. 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire

Creator: Joe Barton

Years: 2024-present

Number of episodes (so far): 6

Where to watch: Netflix

As for that first collaboration between Kiera Knightley and director Joe Wright, it is "Pride & Prejudice," the 500th screen adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel. Okay, 500 is an exaggeration, but it definitely feels as though there is a new "Pride & Prejudice" movie — maybe not in direct name, but very much based on the story — every couple of years. When a story is so frequently adapted, it can take something truly special to make it stand out. Thus why "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" exists. 

However, you don't necessarily need to resort to such gimmickry to make a hit. Just nailing the straightforward adaptation can also qualify as making it special, which is what the 2005 "Pride & Prejudice" delivers. Knightley plays one of the all-time great versions of Elizabeth Bennet — even among the many actresses who play a character clearly based on Elizabeth, a very long list indeed — earning her first Oscar nomination. As Roger Ebert raved in his four-star review, "Knightley's performance is so light and yet fierce that she makes the story almost realistic; this is not a well-mannered 'Masterpiece Theatre' but a film where strong-willed young people enter life with their minds at war with their hearts." 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn

Director: Joe Wright

Year: 2005

Rating: PG

Runtime: 127 minutes

Where to watch: HBO Max

We aren't done praising Keira Knightley for how well she is able to play historical figures in movies. One of her best — but also most unfairly overlooked — examples of this comes by way of the movie "Colette." In it, Knightley plays Sidonie-Gabriel Colette, in what is thus far the closest the actor has ever come to a straight-up biopic. The movie focuses on how Colette ghostwrote her husband's semi-autobiographical novel, and felt slighted by him receiving all the accolades for her work. But it being the turn of the 20th century, the world isn't exactly eager to give a woman her flowers, let alone even believe Colette's claims that she actually authored the work.

Despite how many acclaimed movies she has been in, Knightley herself also seems to struggle getting her flowers. This was pointed out by the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus for "Colette," which states that it "is a thoroughly entertaining biopic and an overdue testament to Keira Knightley's underrated gifts." Knightley certainly shouldn't be underrated as an actor, but she often is for whatever reason. And hopefully that slowly stops being the case as more people find their way to movies like "Colette." 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Eleanor Tomlinson

Director: Wash Westmoreland

Year: 2018

Rating: R

Runtime: 112 minutes

Where to watch: Kanopy, Hoopla

The second of Keira Knightley's two Oscar nominations came thanks to "The Imitation Game," where she plays British World War II codebreaker Joan Clarke. It would've been easy for Knightley's role in the movie to get swallowed up by the absolutely dynamite performance of Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, but it's to Knightley's immense credit that she not only remains visible throughout but does so without the need to chew the scenery or try to out-act Cumberbatch.

It's almost fitting that Knightley was resigned to a mostly thankless job of supporting Cumberbatch's performance, which was more frequently acknowledged by critics, given that Clarke played a similar role to Turing in real life. Plenty of people can name Turing, but far fewer know who Clarke was. At least, they didn't until Knightley brought her to life so brilliantly in "The Imitation Game," which hopefully does as much for Clarke's legacy as a codebreaker as it did for Knightley's reputation as an actor.

Cast: Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Goode

Director: Morten Tyldum

Year: 2014

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 115 minutes

Where to watch: Available to rent or purchase through Amazon Video and Apple TV