The actress who plays Miss Trunchbull in the big screen version of 'Matilda the Musical' reveals she performed a dangerous stunt on a crane after injuring her foot.
- December 24, 2022
AceShowbiz - Dame Emma Thompson injured her ankle on the set of "Matilda". The 63-year-old actress plays menacing headmistress Miss Trunchbull in the movie adaptation of Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly's "Matilda the Musical" - which is based on the classic children's novel by Roald Dahl - and revealed that during the shoot she fell over on set for "no good reason."
"Whilst I'm strong, because I'm getting older, I can hurt myself, and that was interesting. I fell over for no good reason and fractured my ankle. And I thought, 'That's kind of weird, I've never hurt myself like that. Huh, that's because I'm getting older.' My body's changing and I've got to be more careful with it," she said.
The "Nanny McPhee" star had to wear a compression boot on the set of "Matilda" and recalled her surprise that on one particular day, despite her injury, she had to perform a stunt upside down whilst on a crane.
She told PEOPLE, "I said, 'I'm so sorry, I've got to wear the boot. They said, 'It's okay, you're doing a stunt today.' I said, 'What? I've just fractured my ankle.' They said, 'It's okay, we're just turning you upside down. It's fine, you're on a crane.' I said, 'Okay, all right then!' "
The Oscar-winning actress previously revealed that her transformation into the villainous headmistress - who was famously played by "Harry Potter" star Pam Ferris in the 1996 movie but is traditionally played by a man in the West End stage musical - took a total of three hours every day.
She said, " 'Cruella' was a long time, actually, but this was the longest. There's an actual body suit, which is to give her the heft and the muscle. And then a massive weighty underwear and pretend chest and all of that. It was a lot to walk around in!"
