Keira Knightley lightens up in "Begin Again"

Keira Knightley is an actress of aristocratic on-screen bearing . . . not that she always plays the well-bred ladies of classic literature, as we're about to see now from Mark Phillips:

Keira Knightley has come to think there's been a problem with her movies lately, as with "Anna Karenina" two years ago: grimness.

"I was actually told," Knightley said, "that in the last five years I've made 10 films and I died in seven of them! So I sort of thought at the end of 'Anna Karenina' that I should maybe do something that had at least a little hope in it," she said.

No period costumes or swash-buckling swords this time for Knightley. This time, she's a young songstress, fresh off a break-up, discovered by Mark Ruffalo's washed-up record producer, who sees her potential (with a little instrumental help).

Will they make beautiful music together? Will the audience care? The summer rom-com season is upon us.

It's something new for Knightley, who's done many things in the movies, but never had to sing for a living. That is her voice singing in "Begin Again," but she had to fake playing a guitar.

"I learned how to play the right chords at about the right time," she told Phillips. "I couldn't sing and play the chords at the right time. But at least it looked like I could actually play the songs, [which is] the thing about acting! Yeah, that's it in a nutshell!" she laughed.

But this is about another change of pace for Knightley as well. She's trying to bring a bit of brightness to a career that's gotten a bit dark lately.

For an actress who really made her name in action roles -- as a teen-age soccer player in the little cult classic, "Bend It Like Beckham," and who consolidated her star status romping through the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series -- she's spent a lot of time lately trussed up in period costume, in movies like 2005's "Pride & Prejudice," The Duchess" (2008), and "Anna Karenina."

Phillips asked, "Was there a period from 'Anna Karenina,' The Duchess' and 'Atonement' and all of these heavy duty dramas -- no one will accuse them of being rom-coms, that's for sure -- where you just thought you were getting too deeply typecast . . . put on a period costume and tighten up and die?"

"Never," she replied. "I've never really been worried about that. 'Tighten up and die'?" she laughed. "That's amazing! Yes, I was really worried about that one!"

Knightley hasn't really had a lot to worry about lately. Her fame has long ago reached the stage where a stroll through the streets of London inevitably draws a crowd.

"This is great. Just in case we didn't have enough attention," Knightley said. "This is completely incognito."

It's hard to pick up a magazine that doesn't have her picture on the cover. And when she's not selling movies, she seems to be selling something else (i.e., Chanel), and in more than one language.

According to the people who keep score, she's the highest-earning and most bankable actress around right now, yet with a kind of girl-next-door image -- if next door is somewhere in one of the better neighborhoods of London.

There even a story around that she lives not on her millions, but on a mere £50,000 (about $80,000) a year. It's a good story that would be even better if it were true.

"It's not true!" she said. "And every single interview, every single person has asked me and I've said no, it's not true. No, I don't. I can't tell you how many times I've said no, it's not true, it's not true, it's not true."

"It's going to stick with you," said Phillips."

"I know -- everybody wants it to be true!"

So that's that, then.

Other aspects of her life come under equal scrutiny. She's married now, to English rocker James Righton, bringing up that other question:

"You're going to go for the children question, aren't you?" Knightley asked. "It's terrible when you get married. Before you get married, everyone's going, 'Are going to get married? When are you going to get married?' When you get married, everyone is like, 'When are you going to have a baby?' I don't know, I don't know. Hopefully someday, but I haven't got any plans for the moment."

It's hard to think when she'd find time. Having things to do has never been a problem for Keira.

"You've been a teenage star and heartthrob," said Phillips. "You've been a 20-something star and heartthrob. You're now into your thirties . . . "

"I'm 29! I'm not there yet. I'm heading for my thirties!" she replied.

"You're anticipating your thirties. Is there danger of overexposure?"

"Yeah, definitely," said Knightley. "And I think another reason why I'm not doing a film just yet and haven't picked one is I'll have four films out before the end of this year, and that wasn't the plan, it just sort of happened like that. You know, this is sort of two years' work which, for some reason, three of them are coming out within six months, which isn't really what I like."

This summer will show whether Keira Knightley can do "light" again. And the next six months will determine whether it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

"It's a terrible life you're leading," Phillips commiserated.

"Oh, it's awful!" she laughed.

To watch a trailer for "Begin Again" click on the video player below.

For more info:

• "Begin Again" (Official site)
• Follow "Begin Again" on Facebook