Keira Knightley has admitted she struggled with fame as a teenager, but is proud to have kept her cool.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star began acting as a child, before entering the spotlight in popular British film Bend It Like Beckham as a teenager. But unlike so many child stars she has not gone off the rails.

Keira said: "Being a very introverted 18-year-old girl meant it was a very different experience. It wasn't like having years of going, 'Why isn't anybody taking notice, why don't they realise?' It was more a sort of, 'Oh f***, that's just happened, and how do I deal with that? I can't go outside any more!'."

She added: "Luckily, it was so long ago, I don't remember. But I'm still alive, I'm still here and I'm not a drug addict, so I must have been all right!"

In her new film Begin Again she plays a singer-songwriter who is struggling to get her big break. Maroon 5 star Adam Levine makes his acting debut as her obnoxious ex, and Keira felt the rocker was perfect for the role.

She said: "We all felt it was really important for the role of Dave to be played by somebody who was actually a musician, because they have this confidence that you absolutely can't fake. Actors have been through way too much rejection to pull that one off."

Begin Again is in cinemas now.