Though Keira Knightley is only 34, she’s already had an extensive movie career. The English actress made her feature film debut in 1995, and in 2002, she broke out in the film Bend It Like Beckham.
Knightley continues to remain a popular performer today, so we decided to look at some of her best movies. But rather than stacking up her films ourselves, we’ll be turning to IMDb for answers.
The popular movie and TV show website has assigned every one of Knightley’s feature films a star rating. These scores, which are on a scale of 1 to 10, are created out of a weighted average based on the votes of registered users.
With the logistics out of the way, it’s time to dive into the good stuff. Here are Keira Knightley’s 10 best films according to IMDb.
Everest (7.1)
This 2015 adventure film tells the story of the eight explorers involved in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. The travelers are optimistic about their journey to the summit, but are soon struck with a violent storm that tests their survival skills as severe winds and low temperatures threaten their existence.
Jason Clarke plays Rob Hall, who is the leader of a New Zealand expedition group and Keira Knightley plays Jan Arnold, his pregnant wife who has been left at home.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (7.1)
The third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise had Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann, Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and the rest of the crew retrieving Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the hold of Davy Jones’ Locker. After reuniting, they set out to take on the East India Trading Company, an organization that hopes to completely get rid of piracy.
Knightley reprised her role as Elizabeth, the daughter of Governor Swan and fiancée of Will Turner. Though her character is accustomed to living a proper life in the first film, she ditches the ways she was raised in favor of adventures at sea.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (7.3)
Before the third film in the Pirates series was scoring well, the second one was reaching even higher on IMDb.
This swashbuckling fantasy had Davy Jones tracking down Jack Sparrow, who owes him a blood debt. In order to avoid the capture of his soul for all of eternity, the captain sets out on the run alongside Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, whose wedding gets halted because of the chase.
Jack doesn’t get the happy, care-free ending he imagined — but that’s what sequels are for.
Official Secrets (7.3)
This 2019 docudrama tells the real-life story of Katharine Gun, a whistleblower who shared secret information regarding the U.S.’s secret watch on diplomats, who were required to pass a second United Nations resolution related to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Knightley played the star of the story, while actors including Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, and Rhys Ifans backed her up.
The British-American film was praised for its strong message as well as Knightley’s believable performance.
Begin Again (7.4)
This 2012 comedy-drama, starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, tells the story of an independent singer-songwriter named Gretta who teams up with a record label exec named Dan to create an album in New York City. While Dan’s marriage is in shambles, Gretta’s relationship with her long-time boyfriend has recently ended. This causes career, heartbreak, and the idea of romance to meet in the middle.
Begin Again received mostly positive reviews, with many specifically praising the film’s charm and the chemistry between the leads.
Love Actually (7.6)
This British rom-com weaves together the stories of ten different individuals in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The ensemble cast featured names including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Martine McCutcheon, Rowan Atkinson, and of course, Keira Knightley.
Knightley plays a character named Juliet who ends up marrying a man named Peter. His best man Mark records the event but won’t let Juliet see it. This leads Juliet to believe he dislikes her, but the actual truth is that he’s in love with her.
Though the critic reviews were mixed due to the many storylines, audiences loved the sweetness.
Atonement (7.8)
This 2007 romantic war drama, based on the Ian McEwan novel of the same name, shows how a single lie tears apart young lovers Cecilia Tallis (Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), causing their lives to spiral separately downhill over the course of six decades.
The cinematography, score and storytelling had both critics and general audience members flocking to theaters.
Pride & Prejudice (7.8)
This classic retelling of Jane Austen’s 1813 romance novel has Keira Knightley starring as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen playing her love interest, Mr. Darcy.
The film tells of Bennet, an independent young woman living in the 19th-century English countryside, who rebels against her parents’ pressure to get married. However, after meeting the handsome and mysterious Mr. Darcy, Bennet begins to imagine herself as his wife. However, his reserved demeanor makes her question the future of the relationship.
The Imitation Game (8.0)
The Imitation Game is a historical drama that tells of mathematician Alan Turing and his coveted ability to crack Nazi codes. Despite his huge successes, however, he becomes disgraced and convicted of gross indecency after the government learns he is gay.
The film became the highest-grossing independent production of 2014, and with Benedict Cumberbatch expertly playing the role Turing, it’s no wonder why. Knightley co-starred as Joan Clarke, a woman who becomes his colleague and, for a time, his fiancée. Both Cumberbatch and Knightley were nominated for Academy Awards for their stellar performances.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (8.0)
The original 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean movie is the highest-rated Keira Knightley film on IMDb.
This tale introduced Captain Jack Sparrow, who shows up at Port Royal in the Caribbean without a crew to back him up. Lucky for him, the town becomes overrun by pirates that night. He takes the opportunity to kidnap Elizabeth Swann, who holds a coin linked to a pirate curse.
A blacksmith who is in love with Elizabeth, Will Turner, sets out to rescue her. However, the pirate life turns out to have its challenges.