Keira Skyped ticks to Cronenberg (From Runcorn and Widnes World)

Keira Skyped ticks to Cronenberg

9:21am Sunday 5th February 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2011

Keira Knightley has revealed she practised her facial ticks for new film A Dangerous Method on Skype.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean actress plays psychiatric patient Sabina Spielrein in the film about Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, a role which required her to produce facial twitches.

Keira revealed director David Cronenberg told her: "Just make sure the ticks are on the face and they're not funny."

The 26-year-old actress explained she practised screwing up her face in the bathroom mirror and then showed them to the director in an internet video conference to make sure they were suitable.

Sabina became Jung's patient and went on to become a psychologist herself. Keira admitted she enjoyed studying psychoanalysis, but hadn't learned enough to put it into practise herself.

She said: "I got really fascinated by the whole subject. How could you not? The idea of what they were doing at the time, it was a revolution and the reaction that Freud's thoughts and Jung's thoughts had at the time was fascinating.

"I loved reading about it, I wouldn't pretend to be any kind of... I really don't know much. But I definitely did find it fascinating."