Keira Knightley Talks Starting Over and Learning to Sing in 'Begin Again'

In Begin Again, which expands nationally this week, Keira Knightley plays Greta, a woman who turns her broken heart into beautiful music. “This film is definitely about a character who knows exactly what she’s doing,” Knightley, 29, tells Yahoo Movies. “She’s very settled and all of that gets exploded and she doesn’t know what she’s doing any longer.” And what exactly causes the explosion? Oh, just Adam Levine. The Maroon 5 singer plays Greta’s rock-star boyfriend Dave, who abruptly ditches her when Hollywood comes calling with a solo recording contract. Down and out and ready to ditch New York City, Greta meets Dan, Mark Ruffalo’s charming but alcohol-pickled record producer, who hears potential redemption for them both in Greta’s breakup ballad.

The romantic comedy from John Carney, the writer-director behind the charming cinematic duet Once, has already done well in limited release, earning $1.3 million in only 175 locations. As Knightley explains there’s a universality to the story that belies its music-world setting. “This happens to everyone,” she says. “Every single adult experiences going in one direction and things imploding. This story is about that whole moment and picking yourself up and finding an opportunity to stand on your own feet. That’s what I find incredibly positive.” The actress can even defend the faithless Dave. “He just gets incredibly excited,” Knightley says of Levine’s character’s actions. “If you met him two years from now he’d probably be great but at that moment he’s incredibly selfish.”

While Knightley is best known for swooning romances like Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, she admits that Begin Again isn’t a conventional romance. “It’s also a celebration of friendship and music,” she says. “It certainly doesn’t end the way you think it will. The romance is in the friendship.” The movie finds Greta and Dan staging impromptu recording sessions all over New York, a loose environment that was helped by the mood on set. “Working with people like Mark Ruffalo — he’s one of the most wonderful men in the world. Adam Levine is incredibly funny,” says Knightley. “We all just clicked and could have fun together. I was very fortunate to be with people that were open to improvise.”

Less comfortable was the actual music-making — the actress does all her own singing in the movie, even though she hadn’t done much before and had only a short time to prepare, including five lessons with vocal coach to the stars Roger Love. “It was scary,” she admits. “Singing began in the studio when we did this. The music wasn’t written until two days before. It was very much jump in with both feet.” And don’t expect a Knightley solo album anytime soon: She closes the door on any future music career with a firm “Nope, no more.”

Whether or not she croons professionally again, Knightley is certainly clear about what makes a romantic comedy sing. “A rom-com touches people when it recognizes the characters within them are also flawed. They float on that hope,” she says. “Begin Again is about two people that have fallen down and they pick themselves up again.”

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Photo credit: The Weinstein Co.