London, Aug 4 (IANS): Actress Keira Knightley says her time away from movies helped her immensely to train herself to cope with her crippling nerves on film sets.

"I discovered that a lot of what I was suffering from on film sets was stage fright. It's easier for me now, and even if I do freeze, I know how to deal with it," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Knightley as saying.

The Oscar-nominated actress will next be seen in a movie adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina" alongside actors Jude Law and Aaron Johnson.

She admits she loved getting to grips with the complex character for the film.

"She's a wonderful character, but very strange and complex. She is needy and manipulative and then there are sides of her that are vulnerable and innocent, and I sometimes think it's the innocence that pulls her down.

"She will not see reality and when she does, it destroys her. I found her a challenging person. I wanted to shake her and tell her to pull herself together," she said.