Priyanka Chopra says she nearly lost her eye while filming action scene in 'Heads of State'

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has opened up about a minor but shocking accident that occurred while filming her new action-comedy Heads of State, which premieres on Prime Video on 2 July. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor recalled how she injured her face during a high-intensity scene, losing a piece of her eyebrow in the process.

The incident took place during a rainy stunt scene that required her to fall and roll on the ground as the camera closed in. “The camera operator came in a little closer, I came in a little closer, and boom! The matte box hit me right here,” she said, pointing to her eyebrow. “It took out a chunk. I was lucky it didn’t take my eye.”

Kept going despite injury, says Chopra

Despite the bleeding cut, Priyanka didn’t halt filming. Instead, she reached for surgical glue, patched herself up on set, and wrapped up the day’s shoot. “I didn’t want to come back and shoot in the rain again,” she joked.

In the film, Chopra plays Noel Bisset, a sharp MI6 agent pulled into chaos after a diplomatic mission unravels. She stars opposite John Cena and Idris Elba, who play the heads of state she’s tasked with protecting. The actor shared that her character does a fair amount of the heavy lifting when it comes to action, including hand-to-hand combat and stunts.

On-set camaraderie and pranks with Cena and Elba

While discussing the film, Chopra also spoke about the off-screen dynamics with her co-stars. She revealed that Cena and Elba hadn’t met before the shoot, so she stepped in to ease the introductions. “I was like the buffer. I had to make sure we didn’t just start punching each other,” she laughed.

She also mentioned how the set was filled with laughter, banter, and plenty of pranks, most of them aimed at her. “I guess I was the easy target,” she admitted.

Directed by Ilya Naishuller, Heads of State features an ensemble cast including Paddy Considine, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, Stephen Root, and Sarah Niles. The film will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

Up next, Chopra is set to appear in SSMB 29 with Mahesh Babu and The Bluff, where she plays a reformed pirate.