Work accident injury news -
04/09/2009

Blanchett struck on head by co-star live on stage

Even though she had suffered a nasty head injury in the middle of a performance, the Australian A-list filmstar Cate Blanchett carried stoically on to finish her scene with blood visibly flowing down the back of her neck.

Reports from the preview performance of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams noted that her co-performer, Joel Edgerton, accidentally struck Ms Blanchett on the head with a prop radio instead of sending it through a window as the scene required.

She apparently continued acting for around a minute before hurriedly leaving the stage. At that point the Sydney Theatre Company stopped the performance and told audience members that the play would not be resumed that night.

One witness described the injury to journalists, "She had blood streaming down the back of her head and blood on the back of her neck."

Another said, "She was so good, she just went straight on."

A theatre spokesman described the head injury as a "minor blow" and told reporters that Ms Blanchett was "absolutely fine". It is unclear whether Ms Blanchett will be seeking any form of compensation for the unusual work accident.