in the 1980's and 90's, kyaw thu was one of myanmar's leading film stars. appearing in more than 200 movies, directing six others, and winning two burmese academy awards. he was so popular, the military government used him to star in several propaganda films. in one, he played a government soldier fighting rebels in the ethnic region of karen. >> ( translated ): we had to carry guns with bullets in them to assure our safety during the filming. the karen rebels had ordered me dead, they had a price on my head, because i was making these propaganda films. >> brown: at a certain point, though, kyaw thu realized that his sympathies were more with the protesters and rebels. so when the government asked him to do another propaganda film, he made a career-ending decision. >> ( translated ): it was a film about students taking up arms and fighting against the military government. i didn't want to do it, so i refused." >> brown: in 2001 he turned from acting to activism, founding the "free funeral service society," which provides funeral arrangements for people who