Keira Knightley and Donald Shutherland
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Keira Knightley
‘He stood in the middle of the party wearing a gas mask’
Keira Knightley, co-star in Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Monday 24 June 2024
Donald was a giant. When you meet most actors, they’re surprisingly small. But Donald was huge. I remember feeling unbelievably intimidated by his size and reputation when I first met him. He had this clause in his contract that no one was allowed to smoke anywhere near him. Most of the rest of the cast were in their late teens and early 20s, all chugging away.
We used to manically wash our hands and spray ourselves with perfume after, so he wouldn’t know. He’d sniff the air as soon as he came on set and we’d all nervously shuffle about. At some point during filming, he came to a party we all had in a gas mask so we could all smoke. I will always remember him standing in the middle of that party in a gas mask.
He was terrifying and impish and generous. He gave us all gifts and invitations to visit him on his lake in Canada. I wish I’d gone. He was full of stories and mischief. Strange and wonderful and loved by all of us. He will be greatly missed.
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