Keira Knightly said Rivals sex scenes have well and truly trumped that Atonement bookcase moment (Picture: Disney+/Getty)
Keira Knightley reckons raunchy Disney+ TV series Rivals has surpassed her famous sex scene in World War II drama Atonement.
The 39-year-old actress starred in the 2007 film alongside James McAvoy, and their bonking-on-a-bookcase scene became one of the most memorable in noughties film history.
But now the Pride and Prejudice actress thinks Rivals has well and truly blown that tame little moment out of the water.
Based on a Jilly Cooper novel, Keira commented Rivals for its ‘extraordinary’ amount of sex – to the point where there is no comparison between it and Atonement.
She told The Sunday Times about the show – which stars Emily Atack, David Tennant and Danny Dyer: ‘I loved every second of it. I thought they were all brilliant. The bonking is extraordinary.
‘The most famous sex scene that I’ve done, and the one that worked the best, was in Atonement.
The star is a big fan of Jilly Cooper’s on screen adaptation (Picture: Tim P. Whitby/Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI)
Rupert Campbell-Black is quite often naked in the Rivals TV show (Picture: Disney)
‘That was brilliant because it was storyboarded.’
She added about male nudity in Rivals: ‘It’s really upped. There’s a lot of bottoms. It’s amazing.
‘And actually, female nudity has gone down quite a lot, which is interesting.’
Keira was speaking to promote her upcoming Netflix series Black Doves, which sees her and actress Sarah Lancashire, 60, play a spy and spymaster.
The six-part spy thriller – written by Joe Barton – is set against the backdrop of London at Christmas, and the series follows Helen Webb (Keira), a quick-witted, down-to-earth, dedicated wife and mother who is also a professional spy.
After a decade of passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organisation she works for – the Black Doves – Helen’s secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated.
Keira starred in one of the most memorable sex scenes in Atomement alongside James McAvoy (Picture: Focus Features)
The bonkbuster is full of steamy sex scenes (Picture: Disney+ / Rivals)
Following this shocking turn of events, her spymaster, the enigmatic Reed (Sarah Lancashire), calls in Helen’s old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw), an assassin, to help.
Keira – also famed for roles in Love, Actually, Official Secrets, Pirates of the Caribbean, Anna Karenina and The Duchess among many others – is listed as an executive producer on the show.
The star also opened up about the new parameters she has set for her work commitments after having children.
The mother of Edie, nine and Delilah, five, who she has with her musician husband James Righton, 41, added: ‘I couldn’t go job to job (abroad) now. It wouldn’t be in any way fair on them, and I wouldn’t want to.
‘I’ve chosen to have children, I want to bring them up, so I’ve had to take a major step back.’
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