ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - Keira Knightley has slammed “modern-day” movies for “always” featuring themes of sexual abuse.
The 32-year-old actress has admitted she often chooses to star in “historical” movies rather than ones set in the modern-day because of the number of features that promote the idea of sexually abusing their female characters.
She said: “I don’t really do films set in the modern-day because the female characters nearly always get raped.
"I always find something distasteful in the way women are portrayed, whereas I’ve always found very inspiring characters offered to me in historical pieces.”
However, the Atonement star insists there has been “some improvement” over recent years, and she’s pleased to see Hollywood starting to implement stronger female characters into their stories.
She added: “There’s been some improvement. I’m suddenly being sent scripts with present-day women who aren’t raped in the first five pages and aren’t simply there to be the loving girlfriend or wife.”
In Knightley’s latest movie Collette, she stars as the legendary French author fighting against her husband who tries to claim her work as his own, and has said playing strong woman made her feel empowered.
She said: “It’s wonderful to play inspiring women and to get their stories and their voices out there.
"The fact that the movie is coming out right now isn’t a surprise. Women’s stories are suddenly viewed as important.”
