Russell Crowe worked for a month with two broken legs

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Russell Crowe has revealed he broke both his legs on the set of Robin Hood.

The Australian actor opened up about a "small mishap" that he said took place on the set of Robin Hood in 2010.

He said after he broke both his legs, he simply carried on working in spite of his injuries.

"I jumped off a castle portcullis onto rock-hard uneven ground," the Oscar winner, 59, told People magazine.

"We should have prepped the ground and buried a pad but we were in a rush to get the shot done in the fading light."

Even before he took the plunge, Russell said, he knew he was in danger.

"With hundreds of extras around, arrows flying and burn pots setting the castle on fire, there was no pulling out," he explained.

"As I jumped, I remember thinking, 'This is going to hurt.' "

Instead of landing on the balls of his feet and springing up, Russell unfortunately landed heavily on both heels.

And pressure to complete the film meant although he felt extreme pain on landing, he just kept on working for a further month.

"There was a number of weeks where even walking was a challenge," the actor explained.

In fact, it wasn't until a decade later, when he began to experience unusual shin pain, that he agreed to an X-ray and was shocked when the doctor asked about his previous leg fractures.

"Apparently he could see the remnants of fractures in both shin bones," Russell said.

"I finished that movie with two broken legs... No cast, no splints, no painkillers, just kept going to work and over time they healed themselves."