Keira Knightley's Love Coach

An article from Parade Magazine:

Keira Knightley's Love Coach

It was love in the library for Keira Knightley as she and co-star James McAvoy shared a moment of passion amongst the books in their new film, Atonement. Keira tried to have a sense of humor revealing, "I think you have to turn sex scenes into a bit of a joke, which James and I did."

I found out that director Joe Wright stepped in to coach the pair. "You won't hear it in the film, but Joe was off-camera shouting instructions about what we should do to each other," Keira says with a laugh.

Wright insists he had no choice. "On the first take, they kind of went at it for 10 seconds and it was over," he remembers. "That's when I started doing the play-by-play. I've done it before with actors because they can get a little uptight getting romantic in front of a camera. I can't say I blame them."

Keira's stunning portrayal of Cecilia, an uptight upper-class Brit who falls for a lower class guy, has put her on the short list for an Oscar nomination. "I loved the chance to take on a different role because Cecilia can really be cold, and she has her bratty moments," she says. "I certainly have mine--too many I think. But perfection is boring. I like people with flaws.

Even though it can be endearing, Keira admits her flaw is sprinkling her conversation with four-letter words which, of course, I've deleted. "Actually, it is my mom's fault because she swears like a trooper, so I must have caught it from her," she admits. "Oh, dear. It's nothing to be proud of. I'm trying to fix it. My dad often gives me a look. I get the look, which means you've said far too many expletives in one sentence."