Los Angeles, June 13 : Hollywood actress Keira Knightley recalled a "confusing" time when she was feted with an Oscar nomination for one film, and criticized as a "terrible actress" for another.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Knightley reminisced about receiving an Oscar nomination in 2006 for her performance in Pride & Prejudice. However, at the same time, she was being criticized for her performance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

"Yes, it was pretty big for my career. If people will come up to me, it'll be about that one," she said about portraying the Jane Austen-penned heroine.

The actress, whose breakthrough came when she played a tomboy footballer in Bend It Like Beckham in 2002, added: "Pirates of the Caribbean had already come out, but I think in the public consciousness, I was seen as a terrible actress."

Amid critiques of her performance in the second Pirates franchise, Knightley recalled a sudden switch in public opinion on her acting abilities, reports people.com.

"But I had this phenomenally big success with Pirates. And I think this was the first one that was a phenomenally big success, but was also critically acclaimed. So I remember it coming out maybe the same year, maybe around the same time as Pirates 2. And I got the worst reviews ever for that, and then also being nominated for an Oscar at the same time'it was, in my 21-year-old head, quite confusing."

The actress was 20-years-old when she was feted with the Best Actress Academy Award nomination, which made her the third youngest nominee ever at the time, per variety.com.

Pride & Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright, was re-released in theaters in honor of the film's 20th anniversary in April. The actress has been nominated for two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Laurence Olivier Award.

/IANS