Diane Kruger takes action turn in "Unknown"

AP, BERLIN: Diane Kruger resisted the temptation to call in a stuntwoman for a challenging action scene in the thriller "Unknown."

Kruger stars alongside Liam Neeson in the movie, which screened out of competition Friday at the Berlin film festival.

She plays Gina, a taxi driver and illegal immigrant who saves Neeson's character from drowning after her cab skids off a bridge into a river.

Kruger says she "would have been very happy to let a very capable stunt lady take over from me."

But she says her character is "a pretty tough chick really — and I felt like it was important that the audience believed that it was me."

The actress says the experience introduced her to "a whole different layer of acting."