John Carney has issued a public apology for comments he made about Keira Knightley earlier this week. The director, who worked with the actress in 2013's Begin Again, likened Keira to a supermodel and said that one thing he took away from the experience was that he would "never make a film with supermodels again".
John took to Twitter on Wednesday night, apologising for his "petty, mean and hurtful comments".
The Northern Irish director, who focuses on low-budget indie films, also revealed that he has sent a personal, private apology to Keira.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJohn Carney apologised for his "petty, mean and hurtful" comments
Publishing a note titled 'From a director who feels like a complete idiot', John wrote: "I said a number of things about Keira which were petty, mean and hurtful. I'm ashamed of myself that I could say such things and I've been trying to account for what they say about me."
John admitted that "in trying to pick holes" in his work, he ended up blaming others including the film's female protagonist, Keira. "That's not only bad directing, that's shoddy behaviour, that I am not in any way proud of," he said.
"Keira was nothing but professional and dedicated during that film and she contributed hugely to its success," he added.
© Photo: Rex"Keira was nothing but professional and dedicated during that film," he said
The apology came shortly after John gave a controversial interview to the Independent. He said that it was "hard to get any real work done" with Keira's entourage following her "everywhere", and inferred that the two-time Oscar nominee wasn't a true "film actor".
"You need to not be afraid to find out who you really are when the camera's rolling," said John. "Keira's thing is to hide who you are and I don't think you can be an actor and do that.
"It's not like I hate the Hollywood thing but I like to work with curious, proper film actors as opposed to movie stars. I don't want to rubbish Keira, but you know it's hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don't think she's ready for yet and I certainly don't think she was ready for on that film."
