'Safe House' star Denzel Washington says film's waterboarding scene 'disorienting'

close

Video

'Safe House' Stars Talk Waterboarding

Red Carpet Insider: Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds talk about shooting action flick 'Safe House'

In Denzel Washington’s new thriller "Safe House," the actor and executive producer of the film did his own stunts in a scene where he was waterboarded. Washington and his co-stars tell Fox411 that the experience was quite difficult to film.

“It’s disorienting when you’re put back like that and you try not to breathe,” Washington told Fox411. “I'm a good swimmer, so I relaxed and tried to not take in any water, but you can’t help it.”

“I gave away all the secrets,” he joked.

“It was very nerve-wracking for me because I was worried about Denzel,” Washington’s co-star Robert Patrick, who administered the filmed punishment, told Fox411. “Obviously, it was very arduous for him, he had a difficult time with it, but he got through it. He wanted to do it, so my hat’s off to him. We had stunt guys, we did various takes with and without him. [But] he did it multiple times.”

Patrick added that he and the film’s co-stars were happy to be a part of the film because they are fascinated by the CIA and the armed forces.

“It’s one of the great things about my job,” he said of playing members of the forces.

"Safe House" opens nationwide on Friday.