The stars appeared at an LA premiere

John Anyak, who now lives in Atlanta, in the United States, was presented with the new leg by Willis and Antoine Fuqua.

The leg replaces one he wore out in four months of filming in the jungles of Windward Oahu, in Hawaii.

"They did something I will never forget," said Anyak, who had no acting experience before he was chosen to appear in the film.

Lost Boys

He lost his leg during the civil war in the 1980s and was given a wooden leg and crutches and was sent to a Kenyan refugee camp, where he and thousands of others spent nearly 10 years.

Willis plays an honourable soldier

They became known as the Lost Boys of Sudan and about 3,800 have resettled in the United States.

Anyak and five Sudanese friends were picked to be in the film after meeting Willis and the director.

"I couldn't imagine going through what they did," said Fuqua, who also directed Training Day.

"You look in their faces and look in their eyes and it keeps you honest."

In the film Willis plays a US soldier who leads his team into the jungle of Nigeria to rescue a doctor, played by Monica Belluci, who will only go with them if they also agree to rescue 70 refugees.