Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt travelled to Russia to meet US political exile Edward Snowden secretively before playing him on camera.

The 35-year-old, who stars as the controversial former CIA employee who leaked classified information in 2013 in a Oliver Stone-directed movie, recalled his experience of meeting Snowden, reports people.com.

"A few months before shooting the movie, I did have a chance to sit with him in person. It was honestly not as crazy as you would imagine," said Gordon-Levitt whose visits were arranged by Snowden's attorneys in US and Russia, where he lives in exile.

"I flew to Moscow and went and met him at an office," he added.

The actor, who stars in the movie alongside Shailene Woodley, shared that he relished the chance to study Snowden in person and learn more about his character.

"One of the first things I noticed actually was, he's got really good manners. He's sort of old-fashioned, in a way. You don't necessarily expect that in today's world, or when you think of someone who's really good at computers," Gordon-Levitt added.