She’s not the first person that springs to mind when you think of high octane stunts.
But actress Julie Andrews, 81, has revealed that she was almost killed while filming the iconic flying scenes for her Disney hit Mary Poppins in 1964, after plummeting on to the stage when a support wire broke.
The Sound of Music star made the revelation during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, explained that even back then the stunts were pretty risky.
‘These were all practical effects, you were on wires and stuff?’ the host asked.
‘Yes,’ she insisted. ‘There was a very dangerous day right at the end of filming when I was in this excruciatingly painful harness.’
Julie Andrews, 81, has revealed how she was almost killed while performing a stunt for Mary Poppins in 1964 when one of her support wires broke
A classic: Based on the book by novelist P.L. Travers, the Oscar nominated Mary Poppins film was released in 1964 and starred Julie Andrews as the iconic nanny who flew around with her umbrella
‘And I was hanging around up there for the longest time with the umbrella.
‘I thought I felt the wire leave and drop about six inches. I was nervous and very tired.
‘So, I called down and I said, ‘excuse me, when you do let me down, could you let me down really gently, because I felt myself slip and I just don’t feel too safe up here’.
But as she was lowered to safety, Julie’s fears were realised and she fell to the ground.
Julie has revealed that one of her support wires broke while she was filming the iconic flying scenes and she plummeted to the stage beneath
The star joked that the stunts were left until the end of filming as she was dispensable afterwards if anything went wrong
‘I plummeted to the stage,’ she said. ‘I did. And there was an awful silence for a minute and I did let fly with a few Anglo-Saxon four-letter words, I have to admit.’
The veteran actress joked that the stunts happened at the end of filming because if anything went wrong she was dispensable after that with the movie completed.
Mary Poppins, which won the talented singer an Oscar, was just one element of a stellar film career for Julie Andrews.
Read more about Andrews’ illustrious career on the Daily Mail.