She might be one of the most high-profile actors, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Kate Beckinsale.
The actress is suing the producers of the movie Canary Black, after she was allegedly exposed to ‘dangerous and unsafe conditions,’ according to a complaint obtained by PEOPLE, which led her to suffer suffered ‘severe and debilitating injuries.’ The lawsuit alleges that Beckinsale and her team repeatedly ‘repeatedly raised red flags regarding unsafe conditions on and off set.’

These included ‘long, dangerous set days, often lasting fifteen hours, inadequate equipment and medical personnel to help manage the high physical workload and recover from the exertion off set, and failure to adequately inform Ms Beckinsale of what stunts she was expected to perform until often the moment she had to perform it.’

The news was first reported by Puck, who said Beckinsale filed the legal complaint anonymously in June 2024 but has now been refiled under her full name Kathrin Beckinsale. Filming for Canary Black got underway in September 2022 in Croatia, and Beckinsale claims she was routinely compelled to work 15-hour days during filming.

She also alleged that the workout equipment and physical trainers she had asked for in order to ‘stay in top shape for the physical demands of the role’ were not given to her. As a result, she said she suffered a ‘complex meniscus tear in her left knee’ after a scene in which she was thrown into a wall. The injury was aggravated when she was ‘coerced’ into performing ‘unsafe action sequences’ after she returned to work. Beckinsale also alleges she was injured while filming an action scene with no padding. She claims that the scene should have been done by a stunt performer, but that her stunt double had broken his ankle in the past. 

 The lawsuit also contains details of the correspondence between Beckinsale, her agent Shani Rosenzweig and Zois, the producer of Canary Black. Beckinsale alleges she wrote to Zois to tell him about the dangerous conditions, including being told at short notice that sequences were practical stunts rather than special effects.

She wrote: ‘Not really knowing what is coming up and performing it for the first time off guard, on camera and under a time crunch are just loading the dice for unnecessary injury… Speaking last night to a few actors and actresses I know in my position, no one has ever been told something was green screen and found out day of a portion of it was practical… What I am suggesting is merely what has been absolutely standard on every movie I have appeared in before.’

In a later message, Beckinsale’s agent Shani Rosenzweig wrote to Zois to say that the actor ‘keeps showing up to set for her call time and everyone around her has been made aware it’s going to be a 15 hour [or more] day except for her.” She added: “If you’re trying to kill a person, you’re doing a great job.’

Zois allegedly acknowledged the dangerous conditions in a reply, saying: ‘I don’t know what else to say other than you’re right.’ He added: ‘Bottom line, we need to shorten these days… The days are too packed for the pace we are moving and it’s CLEARLY not sustainable.’

In Canary Black, which hit cinemas in 2024, Beckinsale plays a CIA agent who is blackmailed into undertaking missions in exchange for her kidnapped husband’s life. It was met with mostly negative reviews after its release, with Rotten Tomatoes writing ‘it’s neither thrilling nor dramatic enough to qualify as entertainment.’
Kate herself is no stranger to playing the female lead in action movies. She is known for playing vampire warrior Selene in the action-horror franchise Underworld, and she also starred in action films like Resident Evil and Van Helsing.

Although she follows an intense fitness regime at home in Los Angeles, Beckinsale didn’t actually start working out until she was in her twenties and director Michael Bay asked her to lose weight for 2001’s Pearl Harbor. She recounted this moment in an interview with Women’s Health. ‘It wasn’t great. It didn’t make me feel good and, in general, I think women are body-shamed 100 million percent more than men. But on this particular project, I wasn’t,’ she told the outlet. ‘Ben [Affleck], who’d already done a movie with the director, was like, “This happened to me. They made me get new teeth.” And I was like, “Cool, at least I get to hang on to my actual teeth.”’

Now, she told the outlet she works out six mornings a week with her trainer, Brad Siskand. ‘‘Now, exercise is almost more important to me mood-wise,’ she told Women’s Health. ‘The other aspects feel like a great side effect.’

Outside of work, Kate has been opening up about her mother Judy’s stage four cancer diagnosis. On Mother’s Day, she shared an emotional l tribute to her mother. Alongside a carousel of photos from throughout her mum’s cancer treatment, she described Judy as her ‘partner in crime’ and told her that ‘any journey you are on, I’m on it with you’.

PEOPLE reached out to Beckinsale and Zois’ representatives for further information on Wednesday.