Keira Knightly had no idea who she played in theStar Warsfranchise. The actress played the part of Sabé in 1999’sThe Phantom Menacewhen she was 12 years-old. The character is a very important handmaiden and body double for Natalie Portman’s Queen Padmé Amidala. In the movie, she is duty-bound to protect Queen Padmé Amidala, the elected ruler of the people of Naboo, against any threat, which found her having to impersonate Padmé to keep her safe from the Trade Federation. Knightly only played the character once.
In a new interview,Keira Knightleywas asked about her time withStar Wars. “Your character survived, whereasPadmédid not,” an interviewer said to Knightley, who replied, “Wait a minute. Who did I play? Was I not Padmé?” After being informed that Natalie Portman played Padmé and that she played Sabé, Knightley said, “Do you know, I saw the film once. I think I was 12 when I did it and it came out and I saw it the year after. And I’ve never seen it again. So, I played Sabé and she didn’t die? Okay!” She added, “I hope she lived a long and happy life somewhere on a planet far, far away. I’m sure she did.”
Keira Knightly was only 14-year old whenThe Phantom Menaceopened in theaters, so one can imagine why she wouldn’t remember a whole lot 21 years later, especially after taking on as many roles as she has since then. After clearing up the confusion, Knightly was then asked if there were ever any talks of her returning to reprise her role as Sabé. “Reprising the character I can’t even remember the name of? No, there hasn’t,” she said, laughing. Sabé does have a larger role in theStar Warsuniverse, it just didn’t end up on the big screen.
Back in March of this year, Keira Knightly was asked what it was like working onThe Phantom Menace. “I mean, I was 12. I literally don’t remember,” Knightley said. “I remember the headdress being soheavy, it gave me a headache. I really remember the headache from one of the headdresses.” She went on and had this to say about staying awake on set.
“And I remember being in the background for such a long time that I’d actually fallen asleep. I was just sitting in a chair, and I was in the background, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I really remember that. But apart from that, I don’t remember anything else about it.”
It appears that Keira Knightly’s experience in theStar Warsuniverse wasn’t very exciting. It’s also something that she doesn’t seem to have a really good memory about either. But, she was pretty young whenThe Phantom Menacewas being made, and a lot has happened since then. Knightly’s career flourished and a whole new trilogy ofStar Warsmovies has already come and gone, along with some spin-offs and a TV series. The interview with Keira Knightly was originally conducted byComingSoon.
