Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett has revealed she had a close call with a chainsaw following an accident at home.

The Oscar-winning star said she cut her head while working in her garden during lockdown, but reassured fans her injury was minor.

Speaking with former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, Blanchett said: “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.”

Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett has revealed she injured herself with a chainsaw following an accident at home (Ian West/PA)

Gillard replied: “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.”

Australian-born Blanchett, 51, lives in East Sussex with her playwright husband Andrew Upton, 54, and their four children.

During her appearance on Gillard’s A Podcast of One’s Own – which features prominent women as guests – Blanchett revealed she had taken a year off acting to help her 18-year-old son with his A-levels, only for them to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She joked it left her with “an 18-year-old who doesn’t want really to have anything to do with me”.

Blanchett, a two-time Oscar winner for her roles in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, admitted life is “a little bit discombobulating” at the moment, but added it is a “high-class problem” and her family is healthy.

Blanchett is next set to star alongside Bradley Cooper and Rooney Mara in Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Nightmare Alley.