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Matt Damon reveals the toughest part about reprising 'Jason Bourne' role

Matt Damon may seem like he was born to play Jason Bourne on the big screen, but during a Thursday morning visit to TODAY, the actor confessed that returning to the role wasn't easy.
/ Source: TODAY

Matt Damon may seem like he was born to play Jason Bourne on the big screen, but during a visit to TODAY, the Oscar winner confessed that returning to the role wasn't easy.

It's been almost a decade since he last played the part of the former CIA assassin, and it took some hard work to get back into fighting shape.

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Damon had to log long hours in the gym this time around.

"I mean, I'm 45," he explained. "I started doing these, I was 29 — all that stuff came a lot easier."

Except for one very important element.

"I'm a better actor now than I was when I was 29, so that part was a little easier," he added.

"Jason Bourne" director Paul Greengrass was honest with the star about why he needed to transform his body.

"He said, 'Look, if the movie starts and you look like you've lived well for the last 10 years, we have no movie. You have to look like you've suffered, and the only way to do that is to suffer,'" Damon recalled.

"And the second he said it, I knew he was right."

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It seems likely enough that Damon's wife, Luciana, had no complaints.

Asked about that her feelings on the subject, Damon was quick to point out, "She better not get too used to it!"

"Jason Bourne," from our sister company Universal Pictures, opens in theaters nationwide Friday.

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