Keira Knightly in A Most Dangerous Method

Keira Knightley hasn’t been holding back about the erotic scenes in her newest flick A Dangerous Method. The film, a historical period piece documenting the relationship between pioneering psychologists Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, includes some intimate romance between Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Knightly, playing the role of Sabina Spielrein.

When referring to filming the steamy scenes, Knightly admitted that the use of alcohol was important in loosening her nerves before the camera was turned on:

 ”We had one or two shots maximum. It was a vodka shot to calm our nerves and away you go really. Then we had champagne. We drank quite a lot of champagne, actually. The vodka and the champagne was a good combination”.

The actress, known best for her role as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates series, stars in the film alongside Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud, and Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung. Her character, Sabina Spielrein, is historically noted as one of the world’s first psychoanalysts who studied under and had an alleged romantic relationship with Jung.

 “I do a lot of period drama. I just love them. I love everything about them. I’m interested in history and its a privilege that (playing such roles) is part of my job.”

Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen in A Most Dongerous Method

As for Fassbender, A Dangerous Method isn’t the first sexually charged film he’s had released recently. He also stars in Shame, the somewhat infamous Steve McQueen creation that crossed the line into the MPAA’s not so kind NC-17 rating with great critical review.

However, the actor is the first to note that the erotic scenes presented in each movie differed greatly, and their timing did not necessarily aid in making him feel more comfortable about filming nude scenes:

 “When I finish something, it’s gone. I went from “Dangerous Method” straight into “X-Men” and then that was that beast that it was of its own, and then straight from “X-Men” into “Shame.” So the key is then spending time with the script, and then meeting people.”

Critics have given A Dangerous Method rather positive reviews (it has garnered a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and are currently raving about the performances given by all three of the main characters. If anything at all, it should be worth a rental when released on DVD.