Keira Knightley talks to Elle for their March issue about criticism of her acting skills, the importance of honesty in her life, and hew upcoming roles.

On criticism of her acting skills:

“Oh, they still say that! Every time I do an interview with the English press, one of their questions is, ‘How do you feel knowing that everyone thinks you’re a s*** actress?’”

On surrounding herself with people who tell her the truth:

“You have to be selective about the people whose advice and opinions you take. I know [my parents] would never tell me I was s*** because they were trying to hurt me. It would always come from a very sincere place.”

On her other upcoming film “Last Night”:

“When we were making it, the arguments on set were just amazing about whether mental infidelity is better or worse than physical infidelity. There was a huge gender divide on the question. Every single woman said that mental infidelity is 10 times worse than [an emotionless assignation]. And most men I spoke with said that it’s the physical act that would be the ultimate betrayal.”

On her character in The Misanthrope:
“Jennifer’s kind of a crazy mix of being a complete bitch—confident and terrifying—yet she’s incredibly young and is probably being exploited way more than she actually realizes.”
On criticism of her acting skills: “Oh, they still say that! Every time I do an interview with the English press, one of their questions is, ‘How do you feel knowing that everyone thinks you’re a **** actress?’ ”

On surrounding herself by people who tell her the unvarnished truth:
“You have to be selective about the people whose advice and opinions you take. I know [my parents] would never tell me I was **** because they were trying to hurt me. It would always come from a very sincere place.”

On her upcoming film Last Night:
“When we were making it, the arguments on set were just amazing about whether mental infidelity is better or worse than physical infidelity. There was a huge gender divide on the question. Every single woman said that mental infidelity is 10 times worse than [an emotionless assignation]. And most men I spoke with said that it’s the physical act that would be the ultimate betrayal.”