Filmmakers Come Forward To Defend Keira Knightley Against Begin Again Director

Over the weekend, Keira Knightley was called out by her Begin Again director, John Carney, for basically being a bad actress. In an interview about his new film, Sing Street, Carney told The Independent that he wasn't impressed with Knightley's ability to inhabit a character, among a few other less than flattering comments. "Keira has an entourage that follow her everywhere so it’s very hard to get any real work done," Carney said, adding that he'll "never make a film with supermodels again." The filmmaker didn't just take a dig at Knightley's work ethic, either. Carney also said that her "thing" is to hide who she is. "I don’t think you can be an actor and do that," he told the outlet. It didn't take long for other industry vets who've worked with Knightley to respond to the comments on social media. Mark Romanek, who directed her in 2010's Never Let Me Go, called Carney an "arrogant shithead" on Twitter, saying that he had no clue what the Sing Street director was talking about, and characterizing his own experience with Knightley as "utterly spectacular on every level." "My recollection of #keiraknightley's 'entourage' was that her mum visited the set one day for an hour or two," Romanek added. Director Lorene Scafaria, who directed Knightley in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World back in 2012, echoed the same sentiments. "I agree with Mark," she tweeted. "Keira was a joy to work w/. Present & easy & really, really good at her job. Just lovely." Lynn Shelton, who directed the actress in Laggies (2014), piled on the positivity, too. "Working with #KeiraKnightley was magnificent, top to bottom. She is the real deal."