Keira Knightley Says Fame Nearly Drove Her Insane After Years of Paparazzi Abuse

Keira Knightley has opened up about the dark side of fame, recalling the relentless harassment she endured at the height of her "Pirates of the Caribbean" success.

In a candid interview, the Oscar-nominated actress revealed shocking details about how paparazzi targeted, taunted, and terrorized her, even shouting vile insults to provoke violent reactions for profit.

Knightley told The Times of London that life under constant surveillance became unbearable.

"I went mad," she admitted, describing the years when paparazzi hounded her every move.

"It was mostly 'whore’ [they'd shout]," she said. "'Slut’ sometimes. Particularly if I was with someone — a boyfriend, my brother, or my dad. They were trying to get a reaction out of them — provoking people into punching them, so they could sue."

The "Pride & Prejudice" star added that the abuse often escalated into dangerous chases.

She revealed, "That was the time the crashes started happening — they were forcing people off the roads, then getting even bigger money for pictures of a crashed actress or whatever. And then Britney shaved her head so it was like, 'Great — we can push them into doing something f-cking crazy.'"

For a young woman barely out of her teens, the unrelenting chaos proved traumatizing.

The paparazzi's cruel taunts and invasive tactics made every outing feel like a battle for survival.

In response, Keira Knightley devised a quiet but powerful strategy to make herself unprofitable.

"I started wearing the same clothes every day," she revealed. "Three pairs of the same jeans, stripy T-shirt, boots. I gave all my other clothes away."

However, she didn't stop there. To rob photographers of their payday, Knightley turned immobility into resistance.

"And then, if I was being followed, I stopped walking," she said. "I'd literally stand there. Stock still. One day, I stood there for five hours. 'If you're still there, I'm not going. I'm not going to move.'"

The plan worked. "It wasn't a valuable shot to them if it was always me in the same clothes, standing still," she continued. "There's only so many times you can write, 'Ooh, she's wearing the same clothes,' with a photo of me standing still. It gets boring."

Knightley's quiet rebellion was both clever and defiant, a rare act of control in a world that constantly stripped her of privacy.

Eventually, the pressure became too much, and Knightley decided to walk away from it all.

"My family backed me. They said, 'Just f-cking walk,'" she recalled.

She vanished from the spotlight, hopping trains across Europe in anonymity.

"I was very good," she said. "Museums, trains… no one expects to see you there. I was very scruffy, which they also wouldn't have expected. You just don't make eye contact, go a bit hunched. I kind of slithered."

Knightley, who was just 18 when "Pirates of the Caribbean" launched her into global fame, has previously reflected on that era as "a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye."

She added that she was often told she "deserved" the stalking and harassment simply for being famous.

Her story now stands as both a cautionary tale and a powerful reminder of how fame, at its most toxic, can nearly destroy the very people who inspire millions.

Keira Knightley has officially hung up her pirate hat. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" icon, who brought the fierce and fearless Elizabeth Swann to life, has confirmed that her adventures on the high seas have come to an end.

Speaking with PEOPLE at The Woman in Cabin 10 special screening in London on September 25, the 40-year-old actress said she hasn't had any conversations about returning to the blockbuster franchise, even though her former co-star Orlando Bloom recently expressed interest in a reunion.

Asked if there have been any discussions about another installment, Knightley replied with a laugh, "There haven't."

She added, "I actually just heard that for the first time just then, so there you go, but no, there are no conversations."

The actress made her debut as Elizabeth Swann in the 2003 hit "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," starring alongside Johnny Depp as the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow and Bloom as the valiant Will Turner.

The film became a global phenomenon, turning Knightley into one of Hollywood's most recognizable faces practically overnight.

After five films, the last being "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" in 2017, Knightley feels she's sailed that ship for good.

She said, "You know, I think my pirating days are over."

The actress added, "I think I definitely spent many years doing that and, you know, it was amazing and I'm very pleased to have been a part of that, but I suspect that my swashbuckling days are done... but I do look quite swashbuckling tonight!"