Directors Defend Keira Knightley After John Carney Criticizes the Star's Talent

Actress filmed Begin Again with him

Knights in shining armor have arrived to defend Keira Knightley's honor.

Two Hollywood directors have come out with guns blazing to defend the actress' talent, which was put into question by director John Carney, who worked with Knightley on Begin Again. "Keira's thing is to hide who you are and I don't think you can be an actor and do that," he said in an interview with The Independent.

He also described Knightley as being "disenchanted" while filming alongside Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levine. "I don't want to rubbish Keira, but you know it's hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don't think she's ready for yet," he continued, "and I certainly don't think she was ready for on that film."

Carney praised the Maroon 5 frontman and Spotlight star, but continued naysaying the Oscar-nominated actress. "And as much as I tried to make it work I think that she didn't quite come out as a guitar-playing singer-songwriter," he said. "I learned that I'll never make a film with supermodels again."

Knightley, who has many accolades to her name, receive nothing but praise from directors Mark Romanek and Lorene Scafaria, who quickly turned to Twitter to slam Carney's assessment.

"My experience with #keiraknightley was utterly spectacular on every level. I have no clue what this guy is talking about. #arrogants--thead," Romanek tweeted.

"My recollection of #keiraknightley's 'entourage' was that her mum visited the set one day for an hour or two," Romanek added, referring to Carney's accusation that Knightley was always busy onset with her entourage.

Scafaria, who worked with Knightley on the set of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, echoed Romanek's sentiments.