Keira Knightly had no idea who she played in the Star Wars franchise. The actress played the part of Sab&é in 1999’s The Phantom Menace when she was 12 years-old. The character is a very important handmaiden and body double for Natalie Portman’s Queen Padm&é Amidala. In the movie, she is duty-bound to protect Queen Padm&é Amidala, the elected ruler of the people of Naboo, against any threat, which found her having to impersonate Padm&é to keep her safe from the Trade Federation. Knightly only played the character once.
In a new interview, Keira Knightley was asked about her time with Star Wars. “Your character survived, whereas Padm&é did not,” an interviewer said to Knightley, who replied, “Wait a minute. Who did I play? Was I not Padm&é?” After being informed that Natalie Portman played Padm&é and that she played Sab&é, 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 Sab&é 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 when The Phantom Menace opened 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 Sab&é. “Reprising the character I can’t even remember the name of? No, there hasn’t,” she said, laughing. Sab&é does have a larger role in the Star Wars universe, 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 on The Phantom Menace. “I mean, I was 12. I literally don’t remember,” Knightley said. “I remember the headdress being so heavy, 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 the Star Wars universe 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 when The Phantom Menace was being made, and a lot has happened since then. Knightly’s career flourished and a whole new trilogy of Star Wars movies has already come and gone, along with some spin-offs and a TV series. The interview with Keira Knightly was originally conducted by ComingSoon.
