Keira Knightley Claims Playing 'The Object Of Everybody's Lust' Made Her Career Difficult

Keira Knightley apparently struggled a bit after becoming mega-famous thanks to "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Knightley blew up onto the scene after she was cast as Elizabeth Swan in the legendary Johnny Depp-led franchise.

Overnight, she went from being a relative nobody to being a superstar once the first film came out. While many people might think being rich and famous would be awesome, being so damn attractive also has its downsides.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" made Keira Knightley famous. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Keira Knightley felt "Pirates" role made her "caged."

While fans were busy enjoying Knightley, Depp and Orlando Bloom crush it in the fun pirates saga, she felt that it made her job of getting new roles difficult.

The problem? Everyone lusted over Elizabeth Swan - and thus - also her.

"She was the object of everybody’s lust. Not that she doesn’t have a lot of fight in her. But it was interesting coming from being really tomboyish to getting projected as quite the opposite. I felt very constrained. I felt very stuck. So the roles afterwards were about trying to break out of that ... I didn’t have a sense of how to articulate it. It very much felt like I was caged in a thing I didn’t understand," Knightley said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

Keira Knightley talks playing an "object of lust" in "Pirates of the Caribbean." (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Does she have something to be complaining about?

This is very similar to when Margot Robbie complained she almost didn't want to be beloved and universally praised as a star actress.

Remember, Robbie previously told Vanity Fair when talking about fame, "Something was happening in those early stages and it was all pretty awful, and I remember saying to my mom, ‘I don’t think I want to do this,'” Robbie said, describing the time as one of her lowest moments. And just looked at me, completely straight-faced, and was like, ‘Darling, I think it’s too late not to.’ That’s when I realized the only way was forward."

That's very similar to what Knightley is doing here. Oh, you had to make a bunch of money and become a sex symbol in the early-2000s? What a shame! How hard is your life?

Keira Knightley believes being an "object of lust" might have hurt her career. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/WireImage for Disney Pictures)

Why didn't Keira Knightley just quit acting if she hated being popular? Nobody was forcing her to act. She played one of the most notable female characters of the past two decades.

Of course people were going to be into her. That's what happens when you're young, attractive and super famous. Once you start printing money in those kinds of roles, yes, studios want to keep doing it. Why fix something that's clearly not broken? Also, Keira Knightley, as great as she is, has never come close to surpassing her role in "Pirates of the Caribbean."

"King Arthur" was cool, but that happened nearly 20 years ago. "Pirates" is the crown jewel of her acting career, and she's out of her mind if she thinks it was a bad thing.

Keira Knightley reflects on acting career. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

P.S.: What percent of men under the age of 32 had a celebrity crush on Keira Knightley as a kid? Her and Emma Watson were both becoming super famous at the same time and were definitely the face of a generation. They also both became mega-rich. Must be hard!