Chief of Station

Intrigue and action in a spy thriller set in Eastern Europe

Ben Malloy is a former CIA European Station Chief whose world comes crumbling down after his wife, Farrah, a former operative, dies in a terrible accident. But after receiving clues that his wife’s death might not have been an accident, Ben heads back to Eastern Europe where his investigation takes him to Hungary. The timing works well since Ben’s son, Nick, is in Croatia and the two had earlier planned to meet up in Paris. Upon arriving in Budapest, Ben reaches out to John Branca, the newly minted European Chief of Station, a man that Ben mentored and trained. Ben reveals to Branca that Farrah may have been murdered, but when Branca tells him there’s very little he can do, Ben takes matters into his own hands.

Ben first meets Hitchens, a shadowy British weapons dealer and information broker, who provides materials and a hint that Evgeny Maltsev, a Russian FSB Officer, may have played a role in the death of Ben’s wife. Ben confronts Evgeny and his men in a cabaret where things quickly spiral out of control. When one of Evgeny’s lieutenants attacks, Ben defeats him and fights his way through the cabaret where he confronts Evgeny, only to be taken hostage by the Russians.

Spirited off to a forgotten warehouse, Ben’s interrogated by Evgeny who professes his innocence. He claims he had nothing to do with Farrah’s death, but that he might know who did. Before he can reveal what he knows, Evgeny and Ben are ambushed by a group of hired killers who shoot down most of the Russians as Ben runs for cover. Sprinting through the warehouse, Ben manages to call John Branca, who shows up just in the nick of time.

Realising that something terrible is afoot, Branca agrees to safeguard Ben and Nick until he can figure out exactly what’s happening. Ben’s taken to a boat on the Danube, a floating CIA safehouse. Once aboard, Branca reveals that Nick has been picked up by his team … father and son will soon be reunited.

In a twist however, it’s revealed that Branca was involved in the death of Ben’s wife. Along with a Deputy CIA Director, Branca is part of a rogue CIA element involved in all manner of illegal activity … that was about to be exposed by Ben’s wife before she was murdered. Ben’s taken into an interrogation room to be tortured by a Chechen hitman, only to be saved by Krystyna Kowerski, a Polish intelligence operative who once worked with Ben’s wife.

Ben and Krystyna fight their way off the CIA safehouse boat. Once on shore, Krystyna provides Ben with information that leads to a storage unit where Ben’s wife kept a stash of weapons and the evidence she collected on Branca and the rogue CIA element. The only problem is that Branca now has Ben’s son. If Ben wants to see his son alive again, he’s going to have to give Branca all of the evidence Farrah collected.

Ben agrees to swap the evidence for his son on a deserted mountain road, but when Branca tries to double-cross him, Ben turns the tables, rescuing Nick as the pair, along with Krystyna, fight back. 

The trio defeat Branca and his men and then receive information on the whereabouts of the corrupt CIA Deputy Director. Ben confronts the CIA Deputy Director and forces him to admit that Ben’s wife was murdered because she was about to reveal their corruption. The conspiracy unravelled and his wife’s good name restored, Ben and Nick head off to Paris where Ben hopes to regain his post as a new Chief of Station.

Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. During his time in the United Kingdom, Eckhart attended American Community School, where he was first introduced to acting, starring in school plays. Later, Eckhart moved to Australia and settled in Sydney, where he attended American International School of Sydney for his high school senior year and further developed his acting skills in school productions. He left high school without graduating, but later earned his diploma through a professional education course, and then graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, US, in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film. He also studied acting at the William Esper Studio.

As an undergraduate at BYU, Eckhart met director and writer Neil LaBute, who cast Eckhart in several of LaBute’s original plays. Five years later Eckhart made a debut as an unctuous, sociopathic womaniser in LaBute’s black comedy film In the Company of Men (1997), followed by appearances in three more of the director’s films.

Eckhart gained wide recognition as George in Erin Brockovich (2000), and, in 2006, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking. In 2008 he played a major role in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Batman film The Dark Knight as District Attorney Harvey Dent/Two-Face.

He has gone on to appear in many films such as Love Happens, Battle: Los Angeles, The Rum Diary, Olympus Has Fallen and its sequel, Midway.

Olga Kurylenko

Olga Kurylenko is a Ukrainian and French actress and former model. Born and raised in Berdyansk, Ukraine, her mother and father divorced soon after her birth, and young Olga was brought up by her mother and her grandmother. During her youth, Olga had the humbling experience of living in poverty; she had no choice but to wear rags and had to darn the holes on her sweater. During her years in Ukraine, she studied art and languages and spent seven years studying piano at a local school of music in Berdyansk. She also studied ballet until 13.

At age 13 Olga and her mother made a trip to Moscow. There she was spotted by an agent, who approached her at a subway station and offered her a job as a model. Initially Olga’s mother was suspicious, but she checked the agent’s credentials and eventually allowed Olga to accept training as a model in Moscow, which turned out to be a good career choice.

By age 16 she was ready for the next step. She moved to Paris, learned French in six months and was signed by the Madison agency. At age 18 she appeared on the cover of Glamour, and in short order graced the covers of Elle, Madame Figaro, Marie Claire, and Vogue. She also became the face of Lejaby lingerie, Bebe clothing, Clarins and Helena Rubinstein cosmetic companies.

After starting her acting career in 2004, Kurylenko had her breakthrough film role in the action-thriller Hitman (2007). She gained recognition as Bond girl Camille Montes in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008) and as Taskmaster in the Marvel superhero film Black Widow (2021).

She has also starred in Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder (2012), Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy Seven Psychopaths (2012), the science fiction film Oblivion (2013), Armando Lannucci’s political satire The Death of Stalin (2017), Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), the Netflix miniseries Treason (2022), and the action film Extraction 2 (2023).

Alexander Richard Pettyfer

Alexander Richard Pettyfer was born in Hertfordshire and raised in Windsor. His mother is an interior designer. His father, Richard Pettyfer, is a fellow actor.

At age seven, Alex started modelling for Gap’s children range. He also appeared in TV commercials for other brands. When he was older, he modelled for Burberry to fund his travelling adventures.

Alex attended various private schools. During this time, he enjoyed performing in school plays. 

At age13, he auditioned and won a role in the TV movie Tom Brown’s Schooldays (2005). At age 15, he went to Los Angeles and was cast as Alex Rider, the main character in Stormbreaker (2006). This was his breakthrough role, and he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for this role.

Pettyfer has starred in a number of other films, including I Am Number Four, Beastly, and Magic Mike. He starred as Brody in the Netflix science fiction miniseries The I-Land.

Jesse V Johnson – director

Jesse V. Johnson is a British film director, screenwriter and stunt coordinator, born on November 29, 1971, in Winchester, England.

Johnson has directed several notable action films, most of which have been commercial successes across the world. He is known for creating detailed action sequences with a mix of practical stunts, martial arts, and visual effects. 

Some of his recent credits include: White Elephant (2022), Hell Hath No Fury (2021) Debt Collectors (2020) Avengement (2019) and Triple Threat (2019).

Chief of Station opens in cinemas on 21 June.