Keira Knightley, the star of such comparatively low-tech films as Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, probably isn’t the first name to spring to mind when you think of dangerous stunt work. But in her new film, Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, Knightley found out the hard way that being an actress — even a proper, Oscar-nominated one — can bring along its fair share of collateral damage.

Knightley explained how, in one scene that required her to drive a tiny car through an apocalyptic mob, she nearly sent co-star Steve Carell hurtling toward his own end of the world.”So acting, driving badly in a riot, really just turned into me actually driving really badly and nearly killing Steve, by slamming my foot on the break,” jokes Knightley.

And apparently it wasn’t just Carell who had to survive Knightley’s bad driving. “[Carell] was in the back and he launched himself straight forward into the cameraman, and I think if the cameraman can have children after that it would be like a really great thing,” she said, adding: “Luckily nobody was killed, but I think everybody was like, ‘OK, I think we’re done now.’”

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Q: What was your approach to the mixture of comedy and drama in this role? - Uinterview User

It is tricky because I think there is a way of playing comedy — you watch comic films and there is a specific style to it. And then because this one had both those elements, and I think the same for dramatic films, I think the whole concept behind it was so kind of awful and yet funny at the same time, that you sort of just needed to play it kind of truthfully and then the comedy would sort of come out of it. And hopefully that’s what’s happened.

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Q: What was the most memorable moment with your co-star Steve Carell? - Uinterview User

I think we really get on, and I think he is one of the loveliest men in the entire world, and I think that’s what is lovely, I mean if you’re making a film like that, it’s very difficult if you’ve got somebody who is tricky, I think it would be very difficult to really show that friendship and the connection between these two people that are quite unlikely friends, I think because Steve is so lovely it is very easy to kind of get that connection very quickly on a personal, actual level and on a kind of character level as well.

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Q: What was it like to film the riot scene for the movie? - Uinterview User

Actually, I’m a good driver, right, but I don’t have a car in London, so I don’t drive that much, and I’ve never really driven in film before, so I had never experienced the whole driving and acting at the same time, so acting, driving badly in a riot, really just turned into me actually driving really badly and nearly killing Steve, by slamming my foot on the break, and he was in the back and he launched himself straight forward into the cameraman, and I think of the cameraman can have children after that it would be like a really great thing. Luckily nobody was killed, but I think everybody was like, “Ok I think we’re done now.”

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Q: If it really was the end of the world what would you be doing? - Uinterview User

People have been asking me, “What would you do at the end of the world.” You’d think that I’d come up with a good answer but I actually can’t. I think I’d be crying and be terrified in the corner. I’d like to think that I’d be really happy, drinking margaritas and dancing somewhere beautiful with a lot of friends but actually I think I’d be terrified.