Keira Knightley reveals she fell asleep during filming of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

‘Love Actually’ star was just 12 when she performed in George Lucas’ derided sci-fi prequel

George Lucas admits he went 'too far' with Star War: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Keira Knightley has admitted to falling asleep while filming Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

In the widely panned sci-fi prequel, first released in 1999, Knightley played a decoy for Padmé Amidala​, the Queen of the planet Naboo.

Asked by Total Film about her time on the film, Knightley said: “I mean, I was 12. I literally don’t remember… I remember the headdress being so heavy, it gave me a headache. I really remember the headache from one of the headdresses.”

“And I remember being in the background for such a long time that I’d actually fallen asleep.”

She continued: “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.”

The Love Actually star is just one of several high-profile actors to have appeared in the film, including Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman.

Knightley can be seen in the forthcoming drama Misbehaviour. It tells the story of the Women’s Liberation Movement’s actions during the live TV broadcast of the Miss World beauty pageant in 1970.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Please enter a valid email
Please enter a valid email
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Please enter your first name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
Please enter your last name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
You must be over 18 years old to register
You must be over 18 years old to register
Opt-out-policy
You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe.

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Join our new 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