Actor Kate Beckinsale is taking legal action against the producers of her 2024 action thriller Canary Black, alleging unsafe conditions on set. The lawsuit, initially filed anonymously last June but now publicly under Beckinsale’s name, claims she suffered “severe and debilitating injuries” as a result of the working environment.
The main allegations in the lawsuit include:
Being compelled to work 15-hour days without adequate support.
Suffering a meniscus tear in her left knee after being thrown into a wall during filming.
Being coerced to perform “unsafe action sequences” despite returning to work with the injury.
The failure to provide requested workout equipment to maintain her physical condition for the role.
After the stunt double broke her ankle, producers hired an unqualified stuntwoman who was reportedly the girlfriend of the stunt coordinator, rather than a suitably qualified replacement.
Canary Black, released last year, stars Beckinsale as a CIA officer forced into dangerous missions to rescue her kidnapped husband. The film also features Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson, and Saffron Burrows.
Beckinsale made her screen debut in the 1993 Kenneth Branagh-directed Much Ado About Nothing and is well-known for roles in Pearl Harbor (2001), Total Recall, Van Helsing, and the Underworld series.
The Guardian was first to report on the lawsuit.