Keira Knightley remembers Donald Sutherland on 20 years of ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Kiera Knightley and co-star Rosamund Pike looked back on some iconic moments from 2005 adaptation of Jane Austin’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, including their time spent with late Donald Sutherland.

Knightley and Pike starred as Elizabeth and Jane Bennet respectively, meanwhile, Sutherland played the role of their loving father Mr Bennet.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Oscar nominated adaptation, Pike and Knightly sat down with the Vanity Fair to talk about their beloved film.

While honouring the memory of Sutherland, Knightley said, "I have to say, most actors have been a disappointment since then."

"Donald was pretty legendary," Pike added. "We did have dinners with him sometimes, and he told us some pretty wild stories which cannot be shared."

The Black Doves star then shared that Sutherland was strictly anti-smoker, a quality his castmates did not share.

Sharing a memory relating to smoking, the 40-year-old star recalled, "There was the party that Donald Sutherland came to. You weren’t allowed to smoke. He had it in his contract that nobody on the set was allowed to smoke anywhere near, and you couldn’t smell of smoke."

Knightly added, "But of course everyone smoked back then. And everybody would be smoking, and then you’d be sort of spraying yourself."

The Pirates of the Caribbean star further shared that Sutherland eventually came to party with a gas mask, remembering his words, she said, "he was like, 'I want you to all be able to smoke. And I wanted to come to the party.'"

Sutherland died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on June 10, 2024, at the age of 88.