The Wire star almost met an early demise while waiting to film a scene when he fell off a cliff overlooking a waterfall and was saved by a narrow ridge.

He says, "I remember slipping and catching onto this big branch that was sticking up, and I literally was like, 'Whoa!'  It was a moment where I was like, 'This is the real deal'."

During the difficult shoot, Fukunaga contracted malaria and had to push production back a week.

He says, "It's like someone gave you a sleeping pill, along with a pounding headache and a hot-and-cold fever.

"My entire body ached. My kidneys were aching."

Despite the hardships, the movie crew moved forward with the filming and the drama is now receiving rave reviews.