George Clooney had a rifle held to his head in Darfur.

The 52-year-old actor admitted his thirst to ''shine light'' on important stories led to the traumatic experience when he was making a documentary about the genocide in western Sudan in 2007.

Recalling the incident, 'The Monuments Men' star told Variety magazine: ''We got stopped in the middle of nowhere, where we shouldn't have been. A little 10-year-old kid came over with a Kalashnikov assault rifle to my head, basically wanted to get us out of the truck.''

Despite the incident, George has returned to the region many times.

But the actor and producer insisted that while he feels very strongly about highlighting certain issues, he has no political aspirations.

He said: ''I like the ability to shine light and make it loud. But boy, the idea of administrating and legislating. What a nightmare.''

Following the terrifying encounter, the actor co-founded the humanitarian aid organisation Not On Our Watch with a few of his friends, including Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Don Cheadle, six years ago.

George previously brushed off the ambush during an interview with Zoo Weekly in 2008 and said: ''They pointed guns at us and stole what they could. It happens all the time.''