She commands fees in Hollywood of up to £3.5 million per film and usually stars opposite the likes of Johnny Depp.

But after a chance meeting in a dressing room, Keira Knightley's next project is an art house film installation with a budget of just £15,000.

Small budget: Keira Knightley is used to commanding millions for her roles in films

Today, renowned east London portrait painter Stuart Pearson Wright spoke of his delight after landing the A-list star to appear in his directorial debut, Maze. He told the Standard: “People keep asking me how I got a Hollywood star to appear in my film, and I tell them, I just asked'.”

The pair met through a mutual friend, the actress Rosamund Pike, when they both went to see her backstage after she had performed in Gaslight at the Old Vic in 2007. “We ended up going for
dinner with a group of friends, and I bumped into her [Knightley] again at a party of director Joe Wright's,” said Pearson Wright.

Famous friends: artist Stuart Pearson Wright

“We got chatting about an idea I had, and she and her boyfriend, Rupert Friend, came to my studio to discuss it further. I asked her if she would do it, and she said, Yup,' straightaway.”

It marks a huge coup for the artist, who found critical acclaim with portraits of stars including the actors John Hurt and Daniel Radcliffe.

Backstage buddies: Rosamund Pike has starred alongside Keira

The film will be shown on two screens at an exhibition, with Knightley's character on one screen and Pearson Wright's on the other. Set in the Elizabethan era, the two call out in an increasingly frustrating search for each other in a maze.

Pearson Wright describes it as “an extended metaphor for a failed relationship” and an “exploration of male and female archetypes”. It was filmed in one day at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, with the Atonement actress happy to use a nearby B&B as a dressing room. Pearson Wright added: “Not only did I have to direct a crew of 15 through a tight maze, but I had to deal with a Hollywood star. But Keira was fantastic. I was moved by her humility to take direction from me, someone so inexperienced. It's testament to her generosity.”

Knightley, 25, said: “I loved the idea of doing something purely creative, weird and wonderful and not a commercial venture.”

Maze will be shown with a series of paintings which explore male and female archetypes at the Riflemaker gallery in Soho next month.