Keira Knightley: ‘My battle to lead a normal life’

Keira Knightley is sitting in a darkened hotel room. At first I hardly see her. Dressed in an asymmetric dark pink frock that shows off tawny limbs, Knightley, 29, is ridiculously beautiful — all cheekbones and interesting shadows. But she swears, fidgets — I sense an inner tomboy.

The first thing she does is apologise for nearly choking on a biscuit: “like a cat with a hair ball,” she grimaces. I’m expecting her to be more guarded. Since she burst on to our screens at the age of 15 in Bend it Like Beckham (which she shot after taking her GCSEs at