Keira Knightley is tired of her characters dying in movies.

The 28-year-old actress appeared on the red carpet for the European premiere of her latest film, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at the Vue cinema in London's Leicester Square and said she chose to appear in an action film because it was more "fun" than some of her recent roles, which have included Never Let Me Go, A Dangerous Method and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

"I got to the end of Anna Karenina and I sort of realized that I'd either been dying in every film or something horrific was happening to me in every film, and I wanted to do something where that didn't happen. I wanted goodies and baddies... this is a piece of wonderful, totally pure Hollywood entertainment, which I fancied. And then I did two more movies - one called Can a Song Save Your Life and one called Laggies - that are just incredibly positive and fun."

Also walking the red carpet this evening were director Kenneth Branagh, Gemma Chan, Amy Willerton, Elyar Fox and the film's main star, Chris Pine, who said he was thrilled to take on the role of US special agent Jack Ryan, previously portrayed on-screen by Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin. "It's a boyhood dream. I couldn't say no to this opportunity," he said.

Chris also talked about doing all his own stunts for the film, adding, "I always find it surprising that people find that surprising. I mean, you get to pretend to be a badass and you do it with people that make sure you're really safe. So I try to do as much as I can."

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit out now in theaters.