Did you know actress Keira Knightley originally got into acting because of her learning disability?
Diagnosed with dyslexia at age six, Knightley struggled with reading in school. Her parents took quick notice, but the only way they could get the aspiring actress to improve was to use an incentive.
According to Knightley, she struck a deal with her parents where if she was able to learn to read, they would hire an agent for her. So, over the summer holiday, she took the challenge and used the screenplay of Emma Thompson’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility as her reading tool.
Knightley’s mother, who worked with Thompson on the screenplay, encouraged her daughter to learn to read, because “that’s what Emma Thompson would do.”
Eventually Knightley learned to read, and her parents fulfilled their promise to hire an agent for her, which launched her acting career. She has since gone on to star in films such as Pride and Prejudice and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. She maintains that her dyslexia hasn’t affected her ability to learn her lines.
Read more about Knightley’s success in her interview with The Telegraph.