The Mannequin star turned reporter for travel magazine Afar and flew to the African country for his assignment earlier this year (10).

But the vacation turned into a nightmare when he found himself being threatened by an armed guard after accidentally leaving his entrance ticket to historic church Lalibela at his hotel.

The 47 year old explains, "His gun (was) pointed at my back. I thought his reaction to my offence was extreme; I tried to say as much. He grunted something in Amharic and prodded me with the tip of his rifle."

Some locals soon came to McCarthy's rescue and he was released, but the terrifying experience had the actor panicked.

He says, "I tried to breathe."

But McCarthy has no regrets about taking on the assignment for Afar, whose editors pick reporters' destinations by spinning a globe, and admits the incident is just part of the risk.

He adds, "(It) was just the kind of thing that happens when you show up alone in a distant country without a plan."