Actress Lucy Lawless is today asking fans to help raise funds to cover the cost of surgery for her stuntwoman who has been seriously injured filming in New Zealand.
Dayna Grant, who has done stunt work on shows including Wonder Woman 1984, Mad Max, Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings TV series and Xena: Warrior Princess, has suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Created on Monday to provide aid, the ‘ Give a little ‘ crowdfunding page, says she has had CT and MRI scans, which showed she had an 8mm aneurysm.
The page also says her surgery will cost $NZ60k, or about £30,000.
(Image: daynastunts/Instagram)
Ms Grant had been working on the new multi-million pound Lord Of The Rings TV series currently in production in New Zealand, and being produced by Amazon Studios when she was hurt.
An Amazon Studios source confirmed that Dayna had fallen and had a mild concussion on set.
However, the studio also said doctors cleared her to work and she continued on four other productions as well as her weekend stunt school, called NZ Stunt School.
Last night, the stuntwoman said through tears: “Hi everyone, I just wanted to say this. I’m absolutely speechless with all the love and support from everyone all around the world.
“I can’t write it in a message, I just wanted to reply to all of you but I can’t. Thank you so much!”
Lucy Lawless, the well-known star of Xena: Warrior Princess, tweeted her 300,000 followers to help cover the cost of Dayna’s surgery.
She also challenged why New Zealand’s health coverage didn’t cover the injury.
The fundraising page states: “As is often the way with these things, insurance and liability are a maze of red tape and potentially life threatening delay through the Public Health system.”
“Immediate, private Surgery costs $NZ60,00.”’ which is what Dayna needs.
Dayna Grant has three children, the youngest of which is only seven years old.
“We would like to give Dayna’s friends, film Whanau (family) including the Stunt community and fans of her work around the world the opportunity to help,” the page continues.
“If you know and love Dayna, have enjoyed her work or shared her training/inspirational workshops please help us get her looked after as soon as possible and with the best care.”
(Image: (Credit too long, see caption))
By Tuesday, the page had raised over $NZ67,000, around £34,000, to cover Dayna’s surgery, passing the fundraising goal in around a day.
Since being Lucy Lawless’ stunt double in iconic Xena: Warrior Princess, Dayna has been a stunt double for stars such as Charlize Theron, Tilda Swinton, Lynda Carter, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bridget Regan and Ingrid Bolso Berdal.
In 2020 she starred in Wonder Woman 1984 and has worked in the industry for 20 years.
The Lord Of The Rings series, thought to be the most expensive television series ever made, began filming in February 2020.
Filming was paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but restarted in September 2020 and the first episode is due this year.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
