Keira Knightley claims she was harassed by paparazzi

Actress Keira Knightley In an interview with The Times, she recalled the “harassment by paparazzi” she experienced at the height of her fame, when photojournalists would stop outside her house every day.

As she described it, at that moment she "went crazy" and decided to escape Hollywood completely, and set off on a trip around Europe, hiding her identity.

"I went crazy. I just managed to hide it," she admitted, adding that she used to buy entire collections of identical clothes, ensuring that the photos she took of herself looked the same.

The actress points out that this did not have any effect, but rather caused the paparazzi to "go to extremes to get a photo of her", which included renting an apartment across the street from her house, using a telescope with which they could peek into her home...

Knightley also claims in the interview that a group of photographers stood in front of her house and shouted insults every time she came out, in order to capture her reaction.

"They mostly called me a bitch, sometimes a s**t, especially if someone was with me, like a boyfriend, brother or father. They were trying to provoke a reaction, to get someone to hit them, so they could sue us," she said.

“That was the time when they started having accidents - they would push people in vehicles off the road and then get more money because they took a picture of an actress in a car accident. That's when British (Spears") shaved her head, so they thought - great, we can make them do completely crazy things," recalled Knightley, who, because of the whole situation, decided to retire from the world of acting and dedicate herself to traveling around Europe, in disguise.

"One day I said - It's over. My family supported me. I was very good. Museums, trains... no one expects to see you there. I was sloppy, which no one expects either. I didn't make eye contact, I walked a little hunched over. I blended in...", Knightley now reveals.

In an interview she gave a few months ago, the actress also revealed that during the filming of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, in which she plays Elizabeth Swann, from 2003 to 2007, she "was very confused."

"It's funny when you have something that builds you up and tears you down at the same time," she explained.

"Because of those movies, everyone thought badly of me, and yet they were so successful that they gave me the opportunity to act in movies that got me nominated for an Oscar. Those are the most successful movies I've ever been a part of, but they're the reason I felt publicly humiliated. So it was very confusing in my head," said Knightley, who also claims that she wouldn't return to this franchise.

"The hours of filming are crazy. Those are years of your life, you have no control over where the film is shot, how long, what..." she explains.