Julie Andrews has revealed she nearly died during the filming of the classic 1964 Disney movie, Mary Poppins. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, the 81-year-old - who played the titular role - recalled the moment she filmed the iconic umbrella scene, revealing the stunt was pretty dangerous to create. "There was a very dangerous day right at the end of filming when I was in this excruciatingly painful harness," the legendary actress explained. "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."
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"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,'" she added. Julie, who won an Academy Award for her role in the film, then revealed she "plummeted" to the stage. "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," she continued.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJulie Andrews has revealed she nearly died when filming umbrella scene in Mary Poppins
Last year, Disney confirmed that British actress Emily Blunt will play Mary Poppins in the upcoming remake of the much-loved film. The new movie will be set two decades after the original Mary Poppins, and will draw inspiration from all of P.L Travers eight book series. Although Julie is yet to comment on whether she'll make a brief appearance, her co-star Dick Van Dyke recently confirmed he'll make a guest cameo. The 91-year-old star, who played the lovable chimney sweeper Bert in the 1964 musical, shared his excitement to be a part of the franchise once again, telling Entertainment Tonight: "I'll be going to London in the spring to do my role, and I get to do a little song and dance number. I think I just have the one scene and a little song and dance in it."
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Expected to be released in Christmas 2018, the highly-anticipated reboot will be directed by Rob Marshall, who was behind the Oscar-winning movie Chicago. Colin Firth will take on the role of William Weatherall Wilkins, the president of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, while Ben Whishaw plays grown-up Michael Banks. Meryl Streep and Lin Manuel-Miranda are also in the stellar line-up.
