Keira Knightley has plenty of experience when it comes to acting, but the same can’t be said when it comes to singing. The actress was taken out of her comfort zone when filming Begin Again with Adam Levine as the film required her to sing quite a bit.

Speaking to People at the film’s premiere, Knightley admitted that her singing role in Begin Again left her “pretty terrified.” Previously, she had only sung one song in the film The Edge of Love. She sings a lot more in Begin Again, and had the added pressure of being alongside Maroon 5 frontman Levine. She remained humble throughout the interview claiming that she thinks “we faked it all right” in regards to singing.

So, what about Levine who was acting in a film for the first time? Surely, he must have been terrified as well. In the same interview, he said that he was “worried, but had to pretend like [he] wasn’t.” In fact, he had a pretty interesting philosophy in regards to getting into the skin of the character he was hired to play:

“So I was just playing the role of an actor knowing what he was doing. You know when you see a bear you have to pretend you are bigger than the bear in order to keep your life? That’s kind of what it was like. I kept thinking, ‘I’m an actor. For this next two weeks, I am an actor.’ I crossed my fingers and hoped it turned out fine.”

His confidence seems to have worked as Knightley had nothing but praise for Levine as an actor. She said he was a “natural actor” and that he was “very confident” thanks to his career as a musician.

Levine fired back by saying that her talent helped him look that much better on the screen. He said the entire cast, including Knightley, was super supportive throughout the entire filming process.

In other Knightley news, the actress seems to have been so nervous (or busy) throughout the filming of Begin Again that she forgot her own anniversary. The reporters on the red carpet had to remind her of her marriage to James Righton to which she said the first year went alright.

If the first trailer is any indication, both Levine and Knightley put on solid performances. Begin Again hits theaters on July 4.

Image via Movie Trailers/YouTube