Keira Knightley and director Sir Kenneth Branagh join Chris Pine for the premiere of the action thriller that follows a man from his quiet double-life as a veteran-turned-Wall Street executive to his all-out initiation as a hunted American agent. ctor Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightley and Chris Pine attend the UK Premiere of ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’ at Vue Leicester Square on January 20, 2014 in London, England.

Keira Knightley has said working with Sir Kenneth Branagh on Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit felt very “schizophrenic” as he flitted between Russian villain and polite director.

The actress was joined on the red carpet in London’s Leicester Square by co-star Chris Pine and director Sir Kenneth, who also stars as Russian villain Viktor Cherevin.

“It was hysterical. The main reason I did this film was for Ken Branagh – I’ve been a huge fan of his since I was a kid and the opportunity to work with him, not only as an actor but as a director, was something I couldn’t say no to,” Knightley said.

“So it was totally mad, because he’s playing the nastiest villain you can imagine, who does some horrific things to me. So he’d be completely horrendous, and screaming in my ear and all the rest of it, and then suddenly go, ‘Okay ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. And that’s a cut and that was lovely’, and be this sweet man. So it was quite schizophrenic.”

The action thriller, based on the novels by Tom Clancy, sees Pine take on the role of the CIA agent previously portrayed on screen by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck.

The majority of the film is set in Russia, and though some filming was done in Moscow, much of the shooting saw Liverpool, Manchester and London substituted for the Russian capital.

Sir Kenneth said the cast and crew had to become as nimble as secret agents to get the location shoots done as quickly as possible.

“We got a move on, just like Jack Ryan does in Moscow, we moved like the wind,” he said.