This week I had a request to sort Ms. Portman and Ms. Knightley. I was pretty sure I knew Queen Amidala from Elizabeth Swan, but I’ve learned it never hurts to double check the IMDB. Turns out, I was right about Star Wars v. the Pirates franchise, but I learned a few things, too.
Natalie Portman
Born: 1981
Career: She played a teen in Beautiful Girls, a few years before her start in the new Star Wars movies as Queen Amidala/Padme. More recently, she was Nina in Black Swan and Jane in Thor.
Keira Knightley
Born: 1985
Career: She’s Elizabeth Swan in all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, what I didn’t know is that she had a part in Star Wars Episode I. She was in Love Actually, as well as Elizabeth Bennet Pride & Prejudice, and Last Night.
So, how do you tell these two apart? If the character’s name is Elizabeth, it’s Keira. If it’s Pirates, it’s Keira. If it’s Star Wars, it’s probably Natalie. If it’s recent and a doesn’t involve a lot of extravagant costumes, it’s Keira. If there’s costumes and hoopla, it’s probably Natalie.
What else helps you to keep these two straight? Who else should be featured in this column?
19 replies on “Sorting the Stars: Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley”
If character has an English accent, it’s Keira. If the part is supposed to be comedic, it’s probably someone else entirely but still marginally more likely to be Natalie than Keira.
However, Natalie Portman had a British-ish accent in V for Vendetta.
Honestly, I try to avoid both of them; neither of their acting is convincing to me. Except of course Mars Attacks. And Leon.
Keira was good in P&P
I have definitely mixed these up before! Thanks for this post! I’m not sure I’m really sorted yet but at least I’m aware now!
Are the pictures backward, or is it just the way its showing on my screen? Also, Kiera had some pretty extravagant costuming in The Duchess. But that is only one movie.
Also, Atonement had some pretty good period costuming.
In their current headshots on IMDB, Natalie’s blonde & Keira’s got the black dress on. Flipping through their photos, it got very confusing!
WOW! I just looked again (more closely this time) and – wow! Funny thing to me is, before this post I really wouldn’t have said they look much alike. I guess its because their hair styles were always so different.
Actually, in Star Wars Kiera played Padme’s double. I read once that at one point when Kiera was full up in her Amidala costume Natalie’s mother ran up to her mistaking her for Natalie. Clearly an effective double, if she could fool the family.
exactly:)
I was totally going to point this out!
I was going to point this out as well.
I think I mentioned this one before, but I have a hell of a time with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Paul is Butch Cassidy, Steve was in Magnificent Seven?
yes! They are on the list of who’s getting sorted in the future!
Oh! I’ve got this one!
Natalie Portman is the one I’ll watch in almost anything.
Keira Knightly is the one who fucked up Jane Austen.
Haaaa! That’s pretty much how I remember them too.
That is exactly the opposite of how I see them.  =)  If I see Natalie Portman cry one more time….
Kiera’s underbite. That’s how I tell them apart. And if it’s set 100+ years ago, it’s probably Kiera.