Kate Winslet broke her toe in an on-set accident while shooting Triple 9 – but was determined to wear her character’s high heels anyway.

The British actress, 40, stars as a Russian mafia gangster in the US heist drama.

In one scene, she dons red high-heeled boots to play the part – a look she labelled “trashy slut”.

Speaking at a press conference in London, she said she had been filming a scene with co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor when the accident happened.

She explained: “As we wrapped there was an extra who stood up. There were very heavy chairs, and his chair fell backwards, and for some reason the highest point of the back of the chair landed right on the knuckle of my big toe.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Winslet
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Winslet (Matt Crossick/PA)

“And it actually did break my toe. It’s still broken, it still clicks out.

“But my first thought was ‘Oh s**t, it’s the red boot scene tomorrow! I’m never going to get the boots on!’”

However, her dedication to costume designer Margot Wilson drove her to do the scene anyway.

Kate said: “I was so determined to get those boots on, because it was so important to poor Margot. They make it into the movie with the broken toe.”

On playing the brutal Irina Vlaslov, she said: “It was one of those very rare situations for me as an actor where I couldn’t identify with anything about this woman at all. I couldn’t empathise, I couldn’t make peace with anything that she did or said.

“I certainly couldn’t make peace with anything she wore – even the hair was questionable … She had to look as though she believed she was put-together and well-dressed and wearing her wealth, and actually she looked a little bit like a trashy slut.”

The ensemble cast of Triple 9 includes Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Avengers’ Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson and fellow Briton Chiwetel, star of 12 Years A Slave.

Chiwetel plays a former US Navy Seal-turned-corrupt police officer who masterminds a plan to pull off a robbery by killing another cop, a so-called “triple nine”, to cause a distraction.

The group are blackmailed into the robbery by Kate’s Russian-Israeli mafioso, who is running the show while her husband is in prison.

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Matt Crossick/PA)

The film led to another job offer for Chiwetel – when he was asked if he wanted to become a Navy Seal himself.

Turning to the actor, director John Hillcoat asked: “Do you remember the Navy Seals trainer who basically said: ‘If he does want to change profession, come to us’?”