Keira Knightley wants more comedy roles

Keira Knightley signed up to star in a comedy with Steve Carrell because she needed a break from all her "dark" film roles.

The British actress has taken on a series of dramatic parts since her breakthrough in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and she wanted to show off her playful side with a bit of light relief.

However, Knightley admits the project, entitled Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, still has an edgy twist.

She tells Hit Fix, "I did do a comedy over the summer, because I thought, 'Jesus, this is just going from dark to darker to darkest, I need to lighten up a bit.'

"I told a friend, 'Don't worry, it's much lighter,' and then when she asked me what it's about, I had to say, well, the end of the world! Maybe the apocalypse is as light as I can go right now."

Knightley insists she would like to take on more comedy projects, if only she could find the right scripts.

She adds, "If I could find a rom-com project with a character as complicated in her own way as the women in the films I've been doing recently, I'd gladly go for it."