When it came time for stripping down to shoot their love scene in the 18th-century period movie The Duchess, Dominic Cooper said costar Keira Knightley assisted with his choice of codpiece.

“I knew there was a scene in which I had to get naked,” Cooper, 30, told PEOPLE at Wednesday’s special Chanel and Vogue screening of the film in New York for the Cinema Society. “It wasn’t gratuitous, but still quite overwhelming. There were a series of devices I was offered to wear which protect my %26#91;naughty%26#93; bits. And I gave Keira the choice in a very gentlemanly way, ‘You can chose either the furry soft, the pink diaper or the Spandex.”

Why the diaper? “Because she wanted to humiliate me,” insists Cooper. “She laughed and laughed and laughed. That’s what made the scene quite comfortable %26#91;to shoot%26#93;. We realized how ridiculous it was.”

He Said, She Said

That, however, isn’t quite how Knightley, 23, recalls the filming and the specific costume prop.

“I don’t remember choosing,” she tells PEOPLE. “I think he’s making that up. Unless I was feeling particularly malicious, I don’t think I would have chosen to put a man in a skin-colored diaper. I could have been feeling particularly malicious, however, that’s entirely possible.”

As for how Cooper looked in - and out - of the diaper, “He’s a good-looking guy,” said Knightley.

Added Saul Dibb, director of the movie, which also stars Ralph Fiennes: “It’s always the women who are naked. In this one, the men are naked, largely.”

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Keira Knightley has no problem appearing in the buff for her latest film. In fact, she says it’s becoming a habit.

“I always bare my breasts,” she said at the press conference to promote The Edge of Love Wednesday at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. “It’s not like it’s only in this film!”

So when the director asked her to remove her bra, “I said, ‘All right then.’”

But when it came to her singing scenes, the British actress needed much more persuasion. On hearing she had to sing live in front of the cast and 100 extras, she said, “I thought I was going to die. My knees actually started buckling.”

The film was written by Sharman Macdonald, Knightley’s mother, who says her actress daughter was the inspiration for writing the period romance that also stars Sienna Miller, 26, and Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters.)

“I wasn’t particularly pleased that Shar put singing into the script - in the first couple of takes I sounded like a apubescent boy,” says Knightley, who calls her mom Shar and instead of mother.

At the film’s premiere in Scotland on Wednesday, Knightley (in a cream Chanel jumpsuit) and Miller (in a Jasmine de Milo dress) walked the red carpet holding hands.

The two fashionable costars “are incredibly warm in the film and that’s the way they are in life,” says mom Macdonald. “They knew each other slightly before and then they just completely bonded on the film. I hope they will be friends for life!”

Keira Knightley isn’t anorexic - her slim figure is thanks to her dad, not a restrictive diet, says the star’s mom.

“She has always been thin,” Knightley’s mother, Sharman Macdonald, told Britain’s Sunday Times. “She’s her daddy’s daughter, with his long body.”

Like her father, the actress, 23, must “eat like a horse,” to maintain her weight, Macdonald said. Knightley eats a diet high in protein and carbohydrates to make sure she doesn’t lose any more weight.

“I don’t have it. I’m very sure I don’t have it,” she said at the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest London premiere.

In the Times interview, Knightley’s mother said she found the rumors upsetting, especially because she felt there was little she could do about them. “It’s a playground situation that we’re looking at with the press - it’s a form of bullying - but what can we do?”

They shared a nude Vanity Fair cover, and now Keira Knightley is showing vocal prowess to rival that of other actress-turned-singer Scarlett Johansson.

As Vera Philips, the lover of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the new biopic, The Edge of Love, Knightley, 23, sings “Blue Tahitian Moon.” “I did some lessons with a voice coach because I can’t sing,” the actress recently said. “It was live. There were 100 extras and John %26#91;Maybury, the director%26#93; was like, ‘Now you’re going to sing.’ I’ve never been so frightened in my entire life.”

The film, written by Knightley’s mom, Sharman Macdonald, and costarring Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys, will open this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 18.
- Janet Murphy

The British romance and war epic Atonement led the list of nominees announced on Wednesday for the Orange British Academy Film Awards, the U.K.’s answer to the Oscars.

The Golden Globe-winning movie picked up a staggering 14 nominations, including leading actor and actress for its young British stars Keira Knightley, 22, and James McAvoy, 28.

In the best film category, No Country and Atonement are joined by American Gangster, There Will Be Blood and last year’s Oscar winner for foreign language film, The Lives of Others.

Knightley is up for best actress against Cate Blanchett for her role in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Ellen Page for her breakthrough performance in the teen pregnancy drama Juno, as well Golden Globe winners Julie Christie (Away From Her) and Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose).

Globe winner Daniel Day-Lewis’s critically acclaimed role in There Will Be Blood was recognized in the leading actor category. He’ll face competition from McAvoy, George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) and Ulrich M%26#252;he (The Lives of Others).

With the awards season in turmoil as a result of the ongoing writers strike, the Feb. 10 BAFTA ceremony could be the star-studded event of the year.

Keira Knightley is ready to party - with her cast and crew of Atonement, which topped the list of Golden Globe nominees on Thursday, with seven nods, including one for herself and another for her leading man, James McAvoy, as well as for the WWII drama itself, as best picture.

“It’s just so exciting that we’ve got nominated in so many categories,” the British actress, 22, tells the Associated Press. “There’s such a big group of us that can get to go together. It will be a real celebration for the film. It will be a wonderful night.”

Staying Grounded

Regarding any career advice Knightley might have given her, Ronan says, “When we were in Venice %26#91;for the film festival%26#93;, she let my dad know that there was going to be a lot of events and that I should keep myself grounded, and I think that’s the best advice that anyone in Keira’s position can give you.”

As for the reaction from her school pals, Ronan says, “You really find out who your friends are, because they stick by you and they don’t act all strange. But I have really supportive friends and no matter how long I’ve been gone, they treat me like I’ve been there all along.”

Scottish actor McAvoy, 28, for whom Atonement provides a star-making role, says in a statement, “It’s a huge thrill to see %26#91;the film%26#93; embraced by the” Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Depp ‘Super-Flattered’

Of his nomination for the musical (yes, he sings!) Sweeney Todd, Johnny Depp, 44, says, “What an honor to even be mentioned alongside such a talented bunch. Very excited for Tim and Helena and the film!” he said, in reference to fellow nominees, director Tim Burton and costar Helena Bonham Carter. As for himself, Depp said he’s “super-flattered and immensely thankful.”

Viggo Mortensen was also nominated for his dramatic leading role, in Eastern Promises. Congratulating his leading man, the film’s director, David Cronenberg, said, “For me, there was only one actor who could powerfully convey the lead character Nikolai’s many subtleties.” The nomination for the 49-year-old actor is, according to Cronenberg, “perfect and exciting.”

Not that all is merry and bright in Hollywood. With the strike by the Writers’ Guild of America now more than a month old, and with no solution yet in sight, Grey’s Anatomy nominee Katherine Heigl, 29, tells Entertainment Tonight, “I’m not crossing the picket line - not unless I’m contractually obliged to do so - which %26#91;with%26#93; the Golden Globes I’m not.”

The Globes are due to be broadcast over NBC on Jan. 13.