Keira Knightley said she “was not aware” of calls to boycott JK Rowling for her views about transgender people before signing up to voice a character in the forthcoming Harry Potter audiobook series.
The Pride and Prejudice star, 40, is voicing Dolores Umbridge in the new audiobook series being produced by Audible and Pottermore Publishing.
The series boasts a full cast, original music and real-world sound capture to create an immersive audio experience.
In a new interview, Knightley said she hoped people with different opinions could find a way to co-exist.
“I was not aware of that, no. I’m very sorry,” the actor told Decider when asked if she knew of calls to boycott Rowling and the content she was involved in.
“I think we’re all living in a period of time right now where we’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions.
“I hope that we can all find respect.”
The audiobook series, announced earlier this year, will see nearly 200 voices bringing the beloved characters to life for Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions.
Knightley joins a cast that also includes Hugh Laurie as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Matthew Macfadyen as the antagonist Lord Voldemort, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, Michelle Gomez as Professor McGonagall, and Cush Jumbo as the narrator.
Rowling’s novels have previously been rendered into single-voice recordings by Jim Dale and Stephen Fry.
Rowling is involved in the new project through her Pottermore Publishing.
In the last five years, Rowling has repeatedly come under fire for comments on gender ideology, with many critics, including stars of the Potter film adaptations, accusing her of transphobia.
The author has called for spaces for biological women only, dared Scottish police to arrest her for misgendering trans women and implied that the community harbours sexual predators.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular boy wizard, was the first of the lead trio to speak out against Rowling’s comments on trans issues.
“Transgender women are women,” he said in a 2020 statement released by The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention charity for young LGBT+ people.
He acknowledged that Rowling was “unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken”, but said he felt “compelled to say something at this moment”.
His 2020 statement was backed by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
In 2024, Radcliffe revealed he had not spoken to the author in years.
Rowling has since become ostracised from the former child actors. The author has said she won’t forgive the actors for criticising her or her opinions, telling them to “save their apologies”.
In September this year, Rowling described Watson as “ignorant” as she’d “never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame” and accused the star of “pouring more petrol on the flames” of the abuse she receives.
Her comments came just days after Watson said her disagreement with Rowling did not mean she “can’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with”.
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