In trailers for the new true crime-based period piece Boston Strangler, it’s surreal to hear an American accent emerge from Keira Knightley’s extremely English visage. But it was almost a lot weirder. Knightley and her co-star Carrie Coon, who play real-life Boston Record American reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole, told People at the film’s NYC premiere that Bostonian writer-director Matt Ruskin forbade the cast from taking a stab at Boston accents. Knightley says that the cast all tried to talk Ruskin into letting them do the accent, “and he was like, ‘Absolutely not.’ So we failed, but I kind of hear him, because as I found out, people are very opinionated about that accent.”

Coon, who isn’t British but is from Ohio (which is in no way, shape, or form Boston), says that she “was really looking forward to the Boston accent.” Coon got an accidental read in at Ruskin when explaining his Boston Strangler gag order, saying he’s “from Boston and very insistent that anybody who is not from Boston was not going to be doing an accent, because he claims he’s from Boston and he doesn’t have an accent. But he does.” While Knightley and Coon are disappointed they didn’t get to throw around some “wicked pissahs” while tracking down the Boston Stranglah, it’s probably for the best. Sounds like Ruskin didn’t want a Nancy Donovan situation on his hands.

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British actress Keira Knightley is known for her measured performances in period dramas like Pride & Prejudice as well as her involvement in mainstream favourites like the Pirates of the Caribbean. Her latest project will have its premiere on September 14 at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival where it will be available in digital formats and accessible through a physical screening as well.

Directed by Eric Warin and Tahir Rana, Charlotte is a brand new animated film in which Keira Knightley voices a Jewish artist who grows up during the volatile sociopolitical climate of the Second World War. The film attempts to explore life through politics and art, delineating how the two intertwine to form a fascinating commentary on human existence.

The official synopsis reads: “Charlotte is an animated drama that tells the true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve.”

Adding: “But the world around her is changing quickly and dangerously, limiting her options and derailing her dream. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she leaves Berlin for the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.”

Discussing the project, Jen Gorton of Sierra/Affinity, said: “All of us at Sierra/Affinity are excited to work with this star-studded cast and present this unique animated film to distributors across the globe. The story of Charlotte is one that deserves to be told and we are confident that the massive talent of the cast combined with the direction of the filmmaking team will reach and touch adults worldwide.”

Producer Julia Rosenberg also commented on the importance of the project, adding: “Charlotte Salomon invented the graphic memoir when she painted her life story in over a thousand works while living as a refugee during wartime. Her vitality and stunning talent have been overlooked for too long. Charlotte is a gesture of resistance, honouring her legacy while revealing it to the world.”

Check out the brand new clip for Charlotte below.

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Keira Knightley is a versatile actress who has been seen in everything from blockbusters to indies to period films. Throughout her career, she has been in films where she has been seen nude and in sex scenes. Now, since having children, she added a no-nudity clause to her contract. During an episode of the Chanel Connects podcast, the Oscar-nominated actress talked to filmmaker Lulu Wang and producer/journalist Diane Solway about how she is no longer willing to do nude or sex scenes — specifically with male directors.

“It’s partly vanity and also it’s the male gaze,” she said on the podcast. “I feel very uncomfortable now trying to portray the male gaze.”

She understands that some directors need “somebody to look hot” and there are those “horrible sex scenes where you’re all greased up and everybody’s grunting”. For Knightley, she is at a point in her career where she is no longer interested in doing that. She understands the value of these types of scenes but she said that they can find someone else.

“I’m too vain and the body has had two children now and I’d just rather not stand in front of a group of men naked,” she said.

Knightley isn’t totally opposed to nude scenes. She said she would feel different if it was a story about that journey of motherhood and body acceptance — but she said it would have to be with a female filmmaker.

“I don’t have an absolute ban,” said Knightley, “but I kind of do with men.”

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