Los Angeles, Jun 20 (IANS): Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o revealed that she injured her vocal cords while working on the upcoming animated movie 'The Wild Robot'.

The actress had to wear a badge to inform fans why she was keeping quiet at shows.

Appearing on 'Late Night With Seth Meyers', she said: "Sometimes people, fans thought I was being rude because I wouldn't say anything. I'd just be like, (striking a pose)."

"So, then, I just thought, okay, let me let people know what's going on and that way they'll have sympathy for me instead of hatred."

The actress said: "Well, okay, so, she's a robot. And she goes through this journey to finding, I guess, what we would call humanity, like empathy."

"And so, at the start of the movie, I chose to do this very kind of like super positive voice. And it was just not in my local register, which is a lot lower.”

“And so, I did it for way too long over a number of days, and I got a vocal polyp. And so, I lost my ability to speak. And my doctor put me on vocal rest. I was on vocal rest for three months."

The actress wanted to avoid undergoing surgery, especially after being told by her doctor that 35 per cent of people recover naturally, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"And I was so determined to be part of that 35 per cent. And I did. I cured myself," she said.