Rebel Wilson was inspired to become an actress after a "near-death" experience with malaria.

Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson

The 'Isn't It Romantic' star started "hallucinating" on the medication she was given when she was hospitalised with the potentially life-threatening disease at the age of 19 whilst in Mozambique.

The 39-year-old actress' whole life changed after the visions she had of herself as an actress giving an acceptance speech for an award whilst in the hospital.

Appearing on the 'Aussies In Hollywood' podcast, Rebel recalled: "They tried to give me pills, but I heard they can cause mental problems, so I ended up being the stupid person who got [malaria].

"I'm just lying there in hospital, can't really hear, can't really watch TV and I was just hallucinating on the drugs that I was an actress.

"I was giving an acceptance speech ... an acceptance rap, which seems so dorky now.

"When people have kind of near-death experiences, people can experience certain things that really change the course of their life."

Four years later, the 'How to Be Single' star graduated from the Australian Theatre for Young People, and landed her first role as Toula on the US comedy series 'Pizza' and then the sketch comedy 'The Wedge'.

Rebel now has several awards to her name, including the 2013 Best Breakthrough Performance MTV Movie Award for her role as Fat Amy in 'Pitch Perfect'.

Meanwhile, the 'Bridesmaids' star recently revealed she was rushed to hospital after suffering a concussion on the set of 'Isn't It Romantic'.

The Australian comedienne - who stars alongside the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Liam Hemsworth and Adam DeVine in the Netflix fantasy movie - suffered a serious health scare after she fell over on set.

She recalled: "I was walking to meet Adam and Liam for a rehearsal when we were shooting an outdoor Hamptons scene, and I slipped down a grass hill.

"I got a concussion and was rushed to the hospital for three hours, and then came back and filmed a 16-hour day. I thought, how ironic, not from doing one of the crazy stunts, but from the grass having a bit of dew on it."

She added: "Two of my toenails came off because of the flats I was wearing."


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