Keira Knightley hit the red carpet in Los Angeles on Wednesday to celebrate the premiere of her latest film release Jake Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The actress flew in from London earlier in the day and headed to the TCL Chinese Theatre located on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame to celebrate the big event.

Knightley rocked the red carpet in a Chanel dress, not surprising given her role as the face of the French fashion house’s Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. The navy and white number, which she paired with a messy updo and dramatic eye makeup, has been called chic and dramatic by some and evocative of an evil maid by others.

Kate Lee, Chanel celebrity makeup artist, was responsible for Knightley’s makeup for the premiere:

“I wanted to keep her looking more of the moment, and so we went for a navy creamy smudged eye … The dress was quite formal, and with a red lip it may have looked almost uniform, so I decided to do the eye to make her appear a little more mysterious.”

In a red carpet interview, Knightley admitted to never having read the Tom Clancy novels Jack Ryan is based upon. She described the title character as a “reluctant hero … more brains than he is brawn” and a sort of “every man.”

Knightley said she was drawn to the role of Cathy Muller, Jack Ryan’s girlfriend, largely because she wanted to see Kenneth Branagh act and direct in the film:

“I think that was one of the major reasons that I wanted to do this film was to actually see … Ken Branagh act and direct … and do it all at the same time. I mean, he’s been a huge hero of mine from when I was a kid and so I’ve always wanted to work with him … and so when this opportunity came up I just thought yeah, I have to see this happen. I still don’t understand how he does it.

Knightley said Branagh has the rare directorial ability to do both action and storytelling. She hopes that combination, along with Branagh’s understanding of cinema and meticulous attention to detail will be something viewers see in the final version of the film.

The actress hasn’t worked on a major Hollywood film since 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Although she was excited to work with Branagh, she approached the role with a certain amount of wariness:

“Those big blockbusters come with a lot of… baggage … I did actively avoid it,” she said. “But I just got to the end of last year and said, ‘I will do something different this year.’”

She called Jack Ryan “a piece of pure entertainment… I thought, ‘I haven’t done a piece of pure entertainment for at least six, seven years’.”

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