CAREY MULLIGAN - MULLIGAN: 'KNIGHTLEY IS MY BEST FRIEND'

MULLIGAN: 'KNIGHTLEY IS MY BEST FRIEND'

CAREY MULLIGAN counts KEIRA KNIGHTLEY as one of her dearest pals - even though she fell for her PRIDE & PREJUDICE co-star's beau RUPERT FRIEND on the film's set.
Mulligan met Knightley when they were cast as sisters in the 2005 re-telling of Jane Austen's classic love story - a film which also introduced the Pirates of the Caribbean star to her future partner Friend.
The newcomer admits making her first film was full of new experiences, including a crush on Knightley's boyfriend.
She explains, "I fell in love with everybody on that film. I was in love with Rupert Friend for like a month. He's one of my good friends now. It was like, 'Oh, boys! You, you, you and you' - the boom, the sound guy, lighting, yes, everyone. I'd not really been around! I didn't end up with any of them. I had very romantic crushes. Being on a film set was mad."
But the 24 year old insists her infatuation didn't prevent her from befriending Knightley, who she now calls her role model.
Mulligan adds, "She's done bigger films than I have done. Obviously - she's massively famous. But, yeah, she is (a role model). She has a lot of bad stuff to deal with. She gets a really hard time from the press sometimes, and she deals with it really gracefully. Also, she's one of my best friends, so it's hard to talk about her really. We're really close. Keira and I are very tight."