Keira Knightley Hits NYC

She’s the media darling of the UK, and America loves her as well. Keira Knightley flew into JFK International Airport in New York City with her boyfriend, Rupert Friend, yesterday to promote her latest movie, “Atonement.”

In “Atonement,” Knightley plays Cecilia Tallis, a British socialite whose world is destroyed when her younger sister falsely accuses her boyfriend of a crime.

And she recently talked to press about what made her desire the role. “When I was first sent script it was for the part of the sister, Briony, but I completely fell in love with Cecelia. I love that sense that she's about to explode. She's not particularly nice at the beginning. She's sort of brittle and on edge and a bit of a bitch. I like the fact that you've got a person who I believe is probably very good but she's having one of those times in her life where she's being horrible to people and can't snap out of it. I thought that was quite interesting.”

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actress says her chemistry with director Joe Wright (she also worked with him on “Pride and Prejudice” is one of the reasons “Atonement” has such an Oscar-worthy feel to it.

She said, “I think chemistry between actor and director is as elusive as the chemistry between actors. And for some reason, I don't know what it is, but we have great creative chemistry. He's completely obsessed by what he does. If he's doing a film set in 1936 he learns everything about that year, every book, every movie. That obsession is completely catching. That's what anybody working in a creative field wants. You want to give 100 percent, whether it works out in the end or not - and most of the time it doesn't - you want to feel you've at least given your all to it.”

Gossip Girls

Enjoy the pictures of Keira and her beau arriving at JFK airport (November 30).