Keira Knightley CARGO OF DESPAIR

By Polly Graham & Robbie Collin

Film stunner Keira Knightley's career may be on the crest of a wave - but her private life is all at sea.

For the Pirates Of The Caribbean star harbours a secret cargo of fears and self-doubt that at times drag her down into despair.
In an astonishingly candid interview with the News of the World, the 21-year-old Brit who has taken Hollywood by storm reveals how she:

battles against constant pressures to lose weight

worries she has no time for boyfriend, Pride And Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend, and

wrestles with insecurities that make her hate watching herself on screen.

"There are a lot of pressures — not that anybody says anything or does anything, but it's there," says Keira of the weight loss that caused concern when she appeared looking thin and gaunt at the London premiere of Pirates sequel Dead Man's Chest. 

"I'm a skinny person and I remember recently when I went into clothes shops in LA, even I couldn't fit into some of them. 

Strength

"It's worrying to see people pushing themselves to terrifying lengths to achieve what is perceived as being beautiful today. There are some ridiculously skinny people in Hollywood." 

And there are many anorexic ones too — but Keira insists she is not among them, even though she admits both her grandmother and great-grandmother suffered from the eating disorder. 

She hopes that in time she will gain the strength to cope with the never-ending demands to slim down further. 

"I will learn those things in time — but I haven't had time to learn them yet," she says. 

Another thing she admits she has failed to learn to love are her performances — even the role of Lizzie Bennet in Pride And Prejudice that won her a Best Actress Oscar nomination this year. 

"I'm my biggest critic," she admits. "Take my worst review that I've ever had and times it by ten — that's where I put myself. It's a fault, a huge fault — but I hate the performances. 

"When I had to go back to play Elizabeth Swann in Pirates 2, I wanted to change so many things that I didn't like, but I had to keep my performance the same. That made it a little bit weird." 

But she loves Elizabeth as a character: "She's not your average heroine, not just the female love interest in the movie. She actually has a bit of bite to her. For me, that's fun." 

Keira's real-life love interest is Pride And Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend. Keira fell for the 23-year-old actor, who played the dastardly Mr Wickham, on set — breaking up with her long-term love Jamie Dornan. 

She admits she has never felt chemistry as strongly as while she was working with Rupert on the Jane Austen classic. 

"Normally it's ships passing in the night — you get incredibly close to people for a short amount of time and often you never see each other again. But with this one, we have really stayed in touch." 

Difficult

Rupert jetted out to the Bahamas to be with Keira while she finished filming Pirates 2. 

But she reveals she finds it increasingly difficult to snatch time with him — or any of her friends. "I haven't stopped working for the last four years, I haven't," she sighs. 

"I don't really have any time off and I keep in touch by email. People say I have trouble making friends. 

"I must come across like a real bitch to some people. Even my parents are surprised by the fact that I haven't had any time off. I've been working too much. I'm living to work. I'll have to address that." 

Keira has been steeped in showbiz almost since she could walk. The daughter of actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald, she demanded an agent at the age of THREE. 

"My mum and dad had agents calling the house all the time. I was rather p****d off I didn't have one to call!" she giggles. 

Throughout childhood Keira secretly battled dyslexia — escaping into a make-believe world through acting. She still managed to net good grades despite her learning difficulty. 

But drama was always going to be her career. And what a career. 

Now she's looking for her next role — and is off to indulge in the only addiction she has — new shoes. 

"It doesn't matter if they fit me or not, I'll buy them if they're gorgeous," she laughs as she heads for the shops. "I'm going to be bankrupt!"