Keira Knightley made her Hollywood debut at the age of 12 in "Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace" (1999), despite her parents' reluctance and belief that the project would be "boring." Before this, she had mainly appeared in television films, with only one prior feature credit, "Innocent Lies." The role marked a significant, if unexpected, entry point into a franchise that had already reshaped cinema and popular culture, well before she became widely known for "Bend It Like Beckham" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

Knightley played Sabé, a handmaiden acting as a decoy for Natalie Portman's character Padmé Amidala, and has said she was often used as Portman's stand-in without being told exactly what part she was playing. Because Portman, then 16, faced legal limits on working hours in England, Knightley was brought in for wide shots, with her lines ultimately dubbed by Portman. Speaking to Bafta, Knightley described the experience as "confusing" but "exciting," recalling that her parents had urged her not to take the job, telling her, "It'll be really boring, we don't know what it is, don't do it."