John Carney apologises for Keira Knightley comments

Knightley appeared in Begin Again, which Carney directed

Film director John Carney has apologised for comments he made about actress Keira Knightley.

Earlier this week, Carney said he would "never make a film with supermodels again" after working with Knightley on Begin Again.

But he has since posted an apology on his Twitter account for what he described as "petty, mean and hurtful" comments.

The director said that he felt like a "complete idiot".

His apology was posted days after a controversial interview with the Independent, in which he said his new film Sing Street was "a small personal movie with no Keira Knightleys in it".

"Keira's thing is to hide who you are and I don't think you can be an actor and do that," he said.

"Being a film actor requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don't think she's ready for yet."

In the wake of his comments, a number of film-makers tweeted their support of Knightley.

'Utterly spectacular'

Mark Romanek, who directed the London-born star in Never Let Me Go, labelled the director "arrogant".

"My experience with Keira Knightley was utterly spectacular on every level. I have no clue what this guy is talking about," he said.

Writing on Twitter on Wednesday evening, Carney said he was "ashamed" for what he said and had written to Knightley "personally to apologise".

"In trying to pick holes in my own work, I ended up blaming someone else. That's not only bad directing, that's shoddy behaviour that I am not in any way proud of. It's arrogant and disrespectful," he said.

"Keira was nothing but professional and dedicated during that film and she contributed hugely to its success.

"I wanted to publicly, and unreservedly apologise to her fans and friends and anyone else who I have offended. It's not something that I could ever justify, and will never repeat."