London: She made her name in family films such as Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean. Now Keira Knightley is set to stun fans in new film A Dangerous Method, in which she plays a sex-starved psychiatric patient, who enjoys masochism.
But the star admitted she needed alcohol to give her Dutch courage before performing sexually charged scenes on screen.
According to the Daily Mail, the 26-year-old has told how she knocked back vodka before shooting to build up her confidence – and then celebrated with champagne once the take had finished.
‘We had one or two shots maximum. It was a vodka shot to calm our nerves and away you go really,’ she told Culture magazine.
‘Then we had champagne. We drank quite a lot of champagne, actually. The vodka and the champagne was a good combination.’
In erotic scenes the actress is seen being spanked with a leather belt, and later lying topless in bed.
Directed by David Cronenburg, A Dangerous Method tells the story of the relationship between psychoanalysts Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.
It features Viggo Mortensen as Freud and Michael Fassbender as Jung.
Knightley stars as Sabina Spielrein, who is admitted to a psychiatric hospital in the grip of hysteria, to be treated by renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
Set in the early 20th century, the film follows the pairs ensuing love affair, and her rise to medical pre-eminence, as well as Jung’s well documented relationship and bitter feud with Sigmund Freud.
It is based on John Kerr’s 1993 book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud and Sabina Spielrein.
She also said she used the paintings of Francis Bacon to draw inspiration when acting out the character’s psychosis.
Miss Knightley is trying to move away from soft roles that made her famous - from Love, Actually and Bend It Like Beckham and tackle more taxing parts.
Earlier this year she starred in the West End adaptation of Lilian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour, which follows two women accused of having a lesbian affair in the 1930s.
But speaking at the Venice Film Festival where A Dangerous Method premiered in the autumn, she insisted she would keep doing ‘period’ pieces.
She said: ‘I do a lot of period drama. I just love them. I love everything about them. ‘I’m interested in history and its a privelege that (playing such roles) is part of my job.’
She is set to star in a new Tom Stoppard adaptation of Anna Karanina, which will be released next year.
The actress is dating James Righton, the singer and keyboard player for indie rockers Klaxons.
Last year she split from boyfriend of six years Rupert Friend, whom she met when they starred together in Pride and Prejudice.
