Film-makers defend Keira Knightley after criticism by Begin Again director

Major directors have shown their support for Keira Knightley after she was criticised by the director John Carney over their collaboration on Begin Again.

Mark Romanek, who directed the actor in Never Let Me Go, wrote on Twitter that working with Knightley was “utterly spectacular”. Meanwhile, Lorene Scafaria, Knightley’s director for Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, said she was “just lovely” and Say When director Lynn Shelton also referred to the actor as “magnificent”.

In an interview with the Independent, Carney, who directed Once, recalled the making of the 2013 romantic comedy Begin Again as “hard”.

“Keira has an entourage that follow her everywhere so it’s very hard to get any real work done,” he said. “And as much as I tried to make it work, I think that she didn’t quite come out as a guitar-playing singer-songwriter. I learned that I’ll never make a film with supermodels again.

“Keira’s thing is to hide who you are, and I don’t think you can be an actor and do that. I don’t want to rubbish Keira, but you know it’s hard being a film actor, and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don’t think she’s ready for yet and I certainly don’t think she was ready for on that film.”

The comments may be a surprise: Begin Again was a hit with both critics and audiences, and grossed $63m (£43m) worldwide from a $9m budget.

Knightley’s representatives have yet to respond. The actor was last seen in the disaster drama Everest and will next star opposite Will Smith and Helen Mirren in Collateral Beauty.