Australian actress Cate Blanchett had an accident with a chainsaw at her home recently when she allegedly took a “nick” out of her head.
The two time Oscar winner had the dramatic brush with death while she was performing DIY on her country estate in England.
The 51-year-old Blanchett revealed the shocking news as she spoke to former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on her podcast, A Podcast of One’s Own, on Sunday, May 31.
Cate Blanchett said the accident wasn’t ‘exciting’
When Gillard asked her if she was in good health, the Blue Jasmine actress casually replied: “I’m fine. I had a bit of a chainsaw accident yesterday, which sounds very, very exciting, but it wasn’t. Apart from the little nick to the head, I’m fine.”
To which the former Aussie politician responded with: “Be very careful with that chainsaw. You’ve got a very famous head; I don’t think people would like to see any nicks taken out of it.”
Blanchett didn’t go into any details about the work she was doing or how she actually managed to take a “nick” out of her head.
Later in the interview, Gillard asked Blanchett how she and her famous head were coping with the coronavirus lockdown, beyond swinging mechanical saws about her noggin, we can presume.
Cate Blanchett has taken a year off work
The actress said that she had initially taken the year off work so she could help her 18-year-old son Dashiell with his school exams. Unfortunately, the pandemic has somewhat interrupted those plans as school closures became a feature of the lockdown.
Blanchett explained further: “I took the year off ostensibly to be with him and support him through the exam period. And then all of this exam stuff evaporated [because of school closures], and I’m left with an 18-year-old who doesn’t really want to have anything to do with me!”
She added: “So it’s a little bit discombobulating, but it’s a high-class problem, we’re all well.”
The Lord of the Rings actress is married to playwright and director Andrew Upton, with whom she shares four children, Dashiell 18, Roman, 16, Ignatius, 12, and Edith, 5.
It was announced last week that Blanchett, along with Patti LuPone, and Janelle Monae will be honored at the Lifetime Presents Variety Power of Women: Frontline heroes in a virtual ceremony on June 9. The event is billed as a celebration of women who have worked the frontlines in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, last week, Eli Roth announced that he would be teaming up with Blanchett for his new horror movie based on the video game Borderlands.