Denzel Washington was stunned by the freedoms he enjoyed shooting Safe House in South Africa because the last time he filmed in the country he received death threats and had to restrict his movements.
The Oscar winner filmed Cry Freedom in Zimbabwe in 1987 and was shocked by just how dangerous the nation was during Apartheid.
He tells WENN, "They told me I could come but I wasn't allowed to leave. I had heavy death threats at that time.
"There's been a tremendous amount of change... but at the same time I saw a lot of still psychological damage and there will continue to be psychological scars for years to come.
"I met a fair-skinned woman there whose mother was black and her father was Jewish and she told me her mother had to act like she was the maid to live in that neighbourhood and kept the charade up for 20 years."