Injured ... actor Anthony LaPaglia has been hurt during the filming of Balibo in Darwin. Picture: Westley Hargrave

HOLLYWOOD star Anthony LaPaglia was injured in an explosives accident in Darwin during the shooting of the film Balibo.

The $1 million-an-episode star of Without a Trace and Lantana was hurt when an explosive device designed to simulate a gunshot discharged into his arm, a source on the film shoot said.

The accident happened in July during filming of the scene where LaPaglia`s character, Roger East, is shot and killed.

The source told the Northern Territory News filming at Darwin`s Stokes Hill Wharf had to be stopped while LaPaglia was given medical attention.

"It was the scene where East was going to get shot,`` the source said.

"They put the explosives on back-to-front.``

Rather than exploding outwards, giving the appearance of a gunshot, the device - called a "squib`` - exploded into the star`s arm.

The source said shooting was halted as LaPaglia was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital.

When he resumed work he was wearing protective gear.

Producer John Maynard said the incident was a "tiny thing``.

"It was only a scratch,`` he said.

"It didn`t stop us from working.``

The film depicts how East, a Darwin-based journalist, went to East Timor to find out the truth about the Balibo Five, a group of newsmen who were killed during the Indonesian invasion of the island.

Balibo is due to be released next year.