Keira Knightley won’t appear in sex scenes directed by men: ‘It’s partly vanity and also the male gaze’

‘I don’t have an absolute ban, but I kind of do with men’

Keira Knightley has said that she will refuse to participate in sex scenes on films directed by men.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star has filmed several scenes featuring sex and nudity over the years, including Atonement and Colette, but revealed in a new interview that she is changing her policy going forward.

Knightley told the Chanel Connects podcast (per Metro): “It’s partly vanity and also it’s the male gaze. If I was making a story that was about that journey of motherhood and body [acceptance] I feel like, I’m sorry, but that would have to be with a female filmmaker.

“I don’t have an absolute ban, but I kind of do with men.” 

In recent years, Hollywood has started to re-evaluate its relationship with onscreen sex. 

Intimacy coordinators are now ubiquitously employed on film and TV sets, and are responsible for ensuring actors are not pressured to do anything they are uncomfortable with.

In the interview, Knightley continued: “I don’t want it to be those horrible sex scenes where you’re all greased up and everybody is grunting. I’m not interested in doing that.

“I feel very uncomfortable now trying to portray the male gaze. Saying that, there’s times where I go, ‘Yeah, I completely see where this sex would be really good in this film and you basically just need somebody to look hot’.”

Knightley can next be seen in Silent Night, a forthcoming comedy film directed by Camille Griffin. Her 2020 film Misbehaviour is currently available on Sky and Now TV.