Reunited: Pride & Prejudice stars Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen in Anna Karenina

Reunited and it feels so good...

Seven years after they first appeared together as one of the most universally loved, acknowledged and almost 200 year-old literary lovers Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy in the second feature film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice (the first one was Pride and Prejudice 1940 film starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier), stars Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen reunited to co-star and work together again in another famous and one of the most adapted to screen Tolstoy novels, Anna Karenina along with their Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright in the helm. This time, in their new film, Miss Knightley & Mr. Macfadyen played siblings Anna and Oblonsky, quite the opposite from their previous Elizabeth & Darcy characters.

Pride & Prejudice (2005) | Anna Karenina (2012)

Thanks to director Joe Wright, who loves working with the same actors and crew members he previously worked with since his first feature film debut, Pride & Prejudice, he seemed to have always featured at least one or two P&P actors and pretty much the same crew in all 5 of his feature films. According to Matthew, in one of his recent interviews, it was Joe who called him to play Oblonsky.

So, yeah, a big thank you to JW, indeed, for getting Keira & Matthew reunited and co-starring together again 7 years after their first film.

Here's a spotlight of our favorite P&P couple: Elizabeth & Darcy, actors Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen...now playing siblings: Anna & Oblonsky in their new film, Anna karenina opening in US theaters this Friday!

Speaking of JW, he was asked about this at the AK UK Press Conference:
You’ve worked with Keira and Matthew before and, indeed, you work with a lot of people over and over again. Is that something deliberate?
Joe Wright: Definitely! I like the idea of a company atmosphere and I like working with the same actors and crew members – more so with crew. When Matthew [Macfadyen] was doing Pride & Prejudice, he had to be very serious and sombre and I knew that there was another side of Matthew that I’d really like to engage with and so it seemed like a perfect opportunity for that.

As for Keira & Matthew, here are what they said about working together again when they were asked at the Anna Karenina London and TIFF 2012 premieres as well as some press junket interviews...

Keira, how was it being reunited with Matthew Macfadyen again but this time playing brother and sister?

Keira Knightley: We just giggled, really, didn’t we?
Matthew Macfadyen: Uncontrollably, yes.
Keira Knightley: I think it was because we were trying to learn to dance and initially it was just us together. And we just found it absolutely hysterical so we brought that into our brotherly and sisterly relationship.

Watch Matthew's Getty Images interview
"Keira and I, we're tickled to work again, together, you know...and two totally different parts, you know, so it was lovely." (Matthew Macfadyen)

Also...

"Great fun working with Joe as well...and Keira again after 7 years or so." (Matthew Macfadyen) from Making Of's Matthew MacFadyen Interview

Entertainment wise ‏@areyouentwise

Matthew macfadyen said that he enjoyed working with Keira "equally" on Anna kerenina and pride and prejudice. Ahh...

Matthew Macfadyen Says "It Was Surreal" Being Reunited With Keira Knightley For Anna Karenina

Updated 11/19/12:

Glamour: I thought it was great to see you with Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) again, only this time he played your brother.
Keira Knightley: He’s great. I love him. We’ve gotten along so well during Pride & Prejudice. Our actual relationship…for some reason we see each other and just laugh the whole time. [During rehearsals] we had to do a lot of the dancing together. For some reason, we were always partnered up, and we would piss ourselves laughing. And we thought that should be a part of their relationship in the movie as well.
Their relationship is definitely the most fun.
Keira: Yeah, it is in the book. They find each other funny. She finds his exploits funny. It’s a nice part of her character in there because it gets so dark so quickly. You’re able to see that person.

Read more of Keira Knightley’s Glamour Interview here!

Plus more...

Then & Now: Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen

“When he was Darcy and she was Lizzie something happened and they were just perfect together. Keira and Matthew were just wicked together. And when they were together, they were better than when they weren’t together. They made each other better actors.” (Joe Wright, P&P director)