Australian actress Cate Blanchett discovered she was living in a grisly murder house in Sydney when she saw a news report about the crime that had taken place there before she made it home.

The LORD OF THE RINGS star was a struggling student when she moved into the sprawling Zetland home, and it didn't take her long to realise why her rent was so low.

She says, "I found that out late one night, watching TV. AUSTRALIA'S MOST WANTED had been through before I moved in and done a re-enactment, and there was my room and the bed exactly where it was, and the person climbing through the window to strangle the girl.

"I couldn't afford to (move out). The rent was 40 or 50 bucks; the house was condemned. But it was a huge party house, not creepy."

03/12/2004 09:16