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Keira Knightley ‘Didn’t Know’ About J.K. Rowling Boycott Ahead of Audiobook

NEED TO KNOW

  • Keira Knightley said she was “not aware” of boycotts against J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter-related projects until after joining the cast of Harry Potter: The Full Cast Audio Editions.
  • The actress will be voicing Professor Umbridge in Pottermore Publishing and Audible’s upcoming audiobook
  • The author has been criticized for her anti-trans comments and support of an anti-transgender ruling in the U.K.

Keira Knightley has expressed her belief in respecting others’ opinions.

Just over a month after she joined the cast of Pottermore Publishing and Audible’s Harry Potter: The Full Cast Audio Editions as the voice of Professor Umbridge, the Pride & Prejudice star, 40, claimed she was “not aware” of the boycott against the franchise’s author, J.K. Rowling.

“I’m very sorry,” she told Decider with a laugh, as seen in an interview shared to Instagram on Oct. 15. “I think we’re all living in a period of time right now — we’re all gonna have to figure out how to live together aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions. So I hope that we can all find respect.”

Joining Knightley in the cast of the audiobook series are Frankie Treadaway as Harry Potter, Max Lester as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger (Stanton also plays Hermione Granger in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series) in the first three books. The remaining books will be narrated by Jaxon Knopf as Harry, Rhys Mulligan as Ron and Nina Barker-Francis as Hermione.

Kit Harington will also join the cast as Professor Lockhart, Iwan Rheon as Professor Lupin, James McAvoy as Mad-Eye Moody, Ruth Wilson as Bellatrix Lestrange, Ambika Mod as Nymphadora Tonks, Simon Pegg as Arthur Weasley, Gemma Whelan as Professor Sprout, Matt Berry as Sir Cadogan and Leo Woodall as Bill Weasley.

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“In creating Bill Weasley’s adventures through voice, it is genuinely special to be part of bringing this world to life in a new way for listeners,” Woodall, 29 said of his role in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “From the stellar cast to the immersive sound world that Pottermore and Audible have put together, listeners everywhere will be given a new way to be transported directly into these celebrated stories.”

HBO also has a Harry Potter TV series in the works, with each season rehashing the events of a single book. And much like Knightley, John Lithgow decided to keep his and Rowling’s personal views separate when accepting the role of Albus Dumbledore.

“I thought, why is this a factor at all?” the 79-year-old actor told The Times U.K. in an interview published April 27, adding that he was “curious to talk to (Potter book series author Rowling)” at some point.

Others, however, have been publicly critical of Rowling’s comments about the transgender community — including stars like Pedro Pascal and Nicola Coughlan.

In response to a social media post outlining the author’s celebration of an April 16 U.K. Supreme Court ruling that transgender women should not be recognized as women under Britain’s Equality Act, the Last of Us actor, 50, wrote, “Awful disgusting SH– is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.”

For her part, the Bridgerton star made it clear she “wouldn’t touch (the series) with a ten-foot pole.” Coughlan, 38, added, “This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling. Keep your new Harry Potter lads.”

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