Paul Bettany opens up about being ‘the naked guy’ from ‘A Knight’s Tale’
Paul Bettany says that despite his extensive acting career, one particular film scene remains what he’s most recognised for.
The film starred Bettany alongside the late Heath Ledger and told the story of a young man trying to become a knight with help from his friends, including Bettany’s character.
In one memorable scene, Ledger’s character encounters Bettany’s character walking naked through the streets after losing his clothes gambling.
Speaking at a recent Disney fan event, the 55-year-old actor explained that while fans sometimes quote memorable lines from his more recent projects, he’s most often recognised for a nude scene from his early film, A Knight’s Tale, released in 2001.
“I live in New York City, and I was in a film called A Knight’s Tale, right at the beginning of my career, where I walked down the street naked, and so, I’ll get cab drivers to this day winding down their window and going, ‘You’re the naked guy!’” he told People. “They have me at a disadvantage.”
During a separate public appearance last year, Bettany shared that he hasn’t watched the film again since its original release, explaining that it feels like a different chapter of his life.
“It was like another lifetime ago,” he shared during LA Comic Con in 2025. “And people do come up sometimes, people come up to me on the street and quote things at me, and I literally can’t remember. I can’t remember any of it.”
He also shared that watching it again would be difficult, partly because he still misses his late friend and co-star Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose in 2008 at the age of 28.
“I saw [the film] when it first came out. I’ve never seen it again since. There are lots of reasons for that, and just one of them is that I miss Heath too much,” he added.
