Keira Knightley: ‘Black Doves is my Godfather moment – it’s nice to feel powerful’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video I can’t remember a time when Keira Knightley wasn’t on my screen. When I was a kid, the girl who ran around at breaktime playing football fell in love with Bend It Like Beckham. A year later, I learnt how love, actually, is all around, and that I had a deep-seated desire to become a swashbuckling pirate, sailing off towards the horizon. The 2005 Pride and Prejudice remains one of my ultimate comfort films, so much so that I watched it on the big screen last year for the 20th anniversary. But Keira playing a spy who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty in Netflix thriller Black Doves might be one of my favourite of her roles yet. ‘I love Helen. I think partly I love Helen because if I imagine the kind of character that I wanted to play as a teenager, Helen is it,’ Keira, 41, tells Metro while chatting about the new season 2 at a hotel in London. ‘I think she’s as close as I’m ever going to get to a mafia boss, and I was totally obsessed with The Godfather when I was a teenager.’ The actress, who’s currently starring in the West End play The Lives of Others, continued: ‘I’m like, this is my Godfather moment. I love that she’s as powerful as she is. I love the moral ambiguity of her, and that she’s rock hard. ‘As far as a person that I would quite like to be, not really, but kind of, but aren’t. You know? She’s fun. I like inhabiting her. She makes me feel very powerful, which is nice. It’s nice to feel powerful. It doesn’t happen very often. It’s nice.’ Vito Corleone, eat your heart out. ‘Helen is close as I’m ever going to get to a mafia boss,’ Keira said (Picture: Courtesy of Matthew Towers/Netflix) Sam (Ben Whishaw) and Helen (Keira) will always be there for each other (Picture: Courtesy of Matthew Towers/Netflix) Season two of Black Doves picks up during an intense time in Helen Webb’s life. Her husband Wallace (Andrew Buchan) is about to become the Prime Minister. Wallace is aware that Helen previously had an affair, but he doesn’t know that his wife has been a Black Dove agent since they met… and that she still is, passing information from inside No 10 to her boss, Reed (Sarah Lancashire). This series might be about espionage and contracted killers, but friendship lies at the heart of it. Particularly the unconditional love between Helen and Sam (Ben Whishaw), her best friend with a penchant for taking people out for a wad of cash. It was a stroke of genius to cast Ben, 46, in this complex role. Some know him best as the softly-spoken gadget supplier Q in James Bond, others for voicing the eternally beloved Paddington Bear. He comes across as a gentle soul, even in Black Doves when he’s blowing someone’s brains out at point-blank range. Seeing Keira and Ben in person at this week’s launch event, which was held with an incredible view of the Thames, it’s clear that their friendship goes beyond the screen. While answering questions about the thriller, they would look at each other, in a way that felt reminiscent of Helen and Sam’s bond (without the brutal violence). After season one, they had one wish going into the second – a fight scene together. And they got it. What did Metro think of Black Doves season 2? Read TV Editor Sabrina Barr’s four-star review here: To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘We got to do a fight sequence together in season two,’ said Keira, who also relished getting to kick a stuntman out of a window in one of the latest episodes. ‘So we had to learn that and do that together, which is what we’d wanted in season one, and we got our wish. Ben chimed in: ‘We learnt it on the day, maybe the day before,’ to which Keira added: ‘But maybe that bonded us even more.’ The emotional relationship between Helen and Sam is at the core of the series, but Black Doves wouldn’t be Black Doves without all the heavy duty action. Season two opens with an adrenaline-racing sequence that introduces us to a brand new character, one that will undoubtedly become a fan-favourite straight away – Laila, played by One Day and This Is Going To Hurt star Ambika Mod. Seconds after meeting Helen for the first time, Laila quips: ‘I’m the muscle, babe,’ to the seasoned spy. She constantly calls her a ‘spy wife’, much to Helen’s ire, and when her apartment is shot to shreds, she’s most annoyed about losing her security deposit. ‘Some of the lines sound so deranged, you’d think they were ad libs, but that’s genuinely just Joe’s brain, and I love it,’ Ambika, 31, shared with us. Ambika Mod’s Laila is a highly entertaining addition to season 2 (Picture: Courtesy of Matthew Towers/Netflix) Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) and Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) are a chaotic duo (Picture: Courtesy of Matthew Towers/Netflix) ‘She was just really clear on the page. To be honest, I didn’t actually do that much prep, or think too deeply about it. When I first read some scenes with her before I was cast, she just felt so clear from the page, and that’s kind of what made me want to do it.’ A large part of the chaos of season one came down to the anarchic assassin duo Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) and Williams (Ella Lily Hyland), who were introduced as enemies to Helen and Sam before becoming allies. They’re back and more manic than ever in season two, but with a lot more depth. ‘In season one, we kind of came in and just messed around slightly – respectfully – and caused chaos,’ Gabrielle said. ‘But this season, it’s been a gift.’ ‘They’re so humanised,’ Ella added. ‘It’s very hard to not have empathy for anyone when you really humanise them, because we all relate to the full spectrum of human emotions. It’s so fun to play that complexity.’ We’re only two seasons in, but these are characters I hope we can continue to revisit in many more seasons. As long as they survive, of course. Black Doves seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix. Deals of the Day The Orlando holiday deal Disney fans shouldn't miss We're adding this discounted NEOM gift set straight to basket Want an LED face mask for less? This Black Friday deal could save you hundreds This teeth whitening sale could save you up to 64% before Black Friday QVC shoppers can save £159 on Elemis' biggest beauty gift set of the year Arrow MORE: Inbetweeners fans fear ‘risky’ storyline might be happening after seeing new leaked photos Arrow MORE: Line of Duty season 7 launch date ‘revealed’ – and there isn’t long to wait Arrow MORE: James Bond star confirms he’s quit franchise and film needs to be ‘completely reinvented’ TV Newsletter Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.