Keira Knightley thinks there's "an inherent rage to actors".

The 39-year-old movie star has observed that some actors and actresses, including herself, often lean into their anger in order to inspire their on-screen performances.

Keira told the Guardian newspaper: "I think there's an inherent rage to actors. I see that quite a lot. Masked brilliantly but easy to access.

"Not that people behave badly, because generally they don't. But there's a well of anger that opens very quickly.

"It comes from this being such a subjective industry where it is very public when things go wrong. And it's an industry of people searching for a truth that by its very nature they can't find because it's fiction. Maybe that creates the coiled spring, which is where some performances come from."

Asked if she has a well of anger inside herself, Keira replied: "Sure! It's what I use. You use what's in you. You bring it out of yourself and then you just kind of ... ta-da!"

Keira previously admitted that she's always craved "adventures".

The Hollywood star explained that she never wanted to just be seen as the "pretty girl in the corner or the mum being lovable and supportive".

Keira - who previously stared in 'Bend It Like Beckham' and the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film franchise - told the Guardian newspaper: "I wanted to be Al Pacino and that's where I was heading. The great parts are the guys' parts.

"You don't want to be the pretty girl in the corner or the mum being lovable and supportive. Of course, when you grow up you are, but you still want to have the adventures."