First look at Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev's new movie

The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev shows off her new action hero look for the upcoming thriller The Bricklayer.

Revealing a first look on Instagram of her character Kate, she included the caption: "Top Secret: I joined the CIA, made a couple new friends, and split a hole in my pants."

These behind-the-scenes images give us a better idea of what to expect from Dobrev, as she's not shying away from the role's physicality, looking bloody and beaten.

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Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin has been shooting the film, which stars The Dark Knight's Aaron Eckhart, since March.

The synopsis for The Bricklayer is as follows: "Someone is blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it look like the agency is responsible.

"As the world begins to unite against the US, the CIA must lore its most brilliant – and rebellious – operative out of retirement, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unravelling an international conspiracy."

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

While the description is a well-worn action movie trope, when you have talent like Eckhart and Dobrev with Harlin behind the camera, it has the potential to be worth keeping an eye on.

Since finishing supernatural drama series Vampire Diaries, Dobrev has grown her CV, starring in films like xXx: Return of Xander Cage, the Flatliners remake and Netflix rom-com Love Hard.

She'll be working with the streaming service again in the upcoming comedy The Out-Laws alongside Pierce Brosnan, Adam Devine, Michael Rooker, Ellen Barkin and Richard Kind.

Netflix

With The Bricklayer, Eckhart is returning to the action thriller genre once more, with previous roles including the president in both Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen. He will be playing Gerald Ford opposite Michelle Pfeiffer's Betty Ford in the series The First Lady.

The Bricklayer has no official release date yet, but it is expected to arrive next year.