Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Fifty Shades of No Way: Keira Knightley rules herself out of playing Anastasia Steele

From Anna Karenina to Ana Steele? Apparently, not...

Matilda Battersby
Wednesday 12 December 2012 06:46 EST
Comments
Keira Knightley has ruled herself out of the Fifty Shades of Grey films
Keira Knightley has ruled herself out of the Fifty Shades of Grey films (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The spanking scene in David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method is (quite understandably) as far as Keira Knightley is prepared to venture into the world of S&M for her career. The actress has ruled herself out of the running for a film adaptation of EL James’ Fifty Shades of Grey.

“You know, I normally don't like to give a definite about anything [but] I can definitely say [my next movie] will not be Fifty Shades of Grey,” she said in an interview with MTV.

Ever since the rights to the literary trilogy branded “mummy porn” were sold to Hollywood, speculation has been rife over who will be cast to play the two central roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steel.

Bookies are taking odds on big name actresses from Mila Kunis to Emma Watson to play the submissive Ana. But all bets on Knightley should be firmly off.

When the interviewer inquired as to why she wouldn’t consider the role, Knightley joked: “I can't imagine why!” before admitting “Um, I haven't even read it yet, actually.”

She added: “I mean, just from [what I've heard], friends who've gotten into it, and I've gone, ‘No.’ I did A Dangerous Method. That had a bit of all that in it. I don't think I need to do it again.”

Knightley most recently appeared in the Joe Wright-directed adaptation of Anna Karenina.

Over 60 million copies of the Fifty Shades of Grey books have been sold.

Ryan Gosling, Henry Cavill and Alexander Skarsgard are among the actors hotly tipped to play Christian. Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford yesterday told press that he would be keen to take on the role.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in