32 JASON BOURNE

How do you feel about Jason Bourne making this list?

I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured, obviously. He’s a great character, and he’s lasted a fair while. I don’t know whether they’re gonna make another one. I hope they do. But he was just a little bit different, wasn’t he, to some of the others? He came at the right time when we needed a fresh hero who spoke to the times. I’m very lucky to have been a part of it, and to have worked with Matt.

What was your first conversation with Matt about the role?

We first met in Prague, when he was making The Brothers Grimm with Terry Gilliam. We didn’t know each other, but we spent an absolutely fantastic night, and got absolutely hammered. The pair of us were still going at three in the morning. It was conversations about movies and everything. We bonded, that’s the truth of it. I haven’t seen him in a while, actually, but he’s one of the good guys. He’s a brilliant actor, hard-working, committed. And we had a lot of fun along the way.

You and Matt seemed to lock into the character very early on. What was the secret of Bourne’s appeal?

I think he was a bit