Keira Knightley's job insecurity: 'I was convinced they were going to fire me!'

Here's a blast of refreshing honesty: Not only does Keira Knightley read her reviews, but she admits they sometimes sting.

The brutal ones she received early in her career nearly ended it before it really got started.

"There was a lot of criticism," Keira, 29, said at an event in New York City last night. "People saying, 'She's s--t, she can't act, she can't do it. What's the point? She's pouty, she's thin.' Being a teenager, you do read it all…You go, 'Oh, my God, I'm that awful.'"

The British actress, who returns to Aussie screens in January's The Imitation Game, was only 17 when she was cast in Pirates of the Caribbean, her first American blockbuster. Nice work if you can get it, right? But Keira didn't think she'd get to keep it.

"I had only packed a small bag because I was convinced they were going to fire me," she recalled.

You can't please everyone, but clearly Keira pleased all the right ones.