Keira Knightley has spoken about the "pressure" of returning to the hit Netflix series Black Doves for its second season. The 41-year-old actress reprises her role as Helen Webb, a dedicated mother, wife and professional spy who has been passing on her politician husband's secrets for 10 years to the organisation she works for – the Black Doves.
In the action-packed second season, her character faces even higher stakes as her husband Wallace prepares to step into 10 Downing Street as the new UK prime minister.
Added Pressure After First Season Success
During an interview with the Press Association, the Oscar-nominated actress discussed the series' long-awaited return and the expectations that come with it.
"The first time round, obviously nobody knew what it was, so you don't have that pressure," Knightley said. "There's no anticipation – it was just, 'We'll try and make this thing and if it works, brilliant'."
"And it did – and that was amazing. But now people are like, 'Oh, we like that'," she continued. "So, there is a little added pressure to it. You want to keep the magic, but you want to move it on and hopefully make it better. So, that's different."
Praise for Creator Joe Barton
Knightley, who also executive-produces the show, said the team felt the characters warranted further exploration.
"We all felt like they were interesting enough characters and there was a strange enough vibe to it that there was more to look at," she said. "There was more to that you could mine more out of (the series). It felt like we hadn't finished the first time round."
The actress also praised Black Doves creator, executive producer and writer Joe Barton, describing him as "very special".
"There are no one-dimensional characters in this," she said. "You wouldn't normally have these relationships. You wouldn't normally have characters who are so morally like, 'who's a goody, who's a baddie'. He really goes there."
Knightley added: "He never goes for an easy option. He never gives you what you think you're going to get. He always subverts things and it's always unexpected."
Black Doves season two is available on Netflix.
