Jeremy Renner: 'Bourne' Franchise Is a 'Huge Responsibility'

Jeremy Renner takes the cover of Empire‘s August 2012 issue, on newsstands June 28.

Here’s what the 41-year-old The Bourne Legacy star had to share:

On taking over the Bourne franchise: “That’s a huge responsibility. I had to think about what that would mean for my family, my friends, my personal life. It shifts all those relationships in different ways. We can’t just go have a cup of coffee somewhere. So it affects what they’re doing and I had to consider that.”

On how his character, Aaron Cross, is different from Jason Bourne: “He’s coming from a completely different background to Jason. He knows exactly who he is; he signed up to this … He wants to be part of a team. I can tell you he was in the military then he joined this program. He’s a person who wants to be part of something. He had nothing going on as a civilian so he became part of this military organisation. He just wants to belong and have a sense of purpose. But then it’s taken away.”

On his first encounter with Matt Damon, who played Bourne: “I was at the Academy Awards for The Hurt Locker and [he] sat in front of me. He, funnily enough, had just seen The Town, because he and Ben Affleck are best buds. I hadn’t even seen it then. So he saw the movie and he was like, ‘Dude! Dude! I saw the movie and it’s so great and you’re awesome!’ So it was a f—— funny introduction, just being at the Academy Awards and having Matt Damon in front of you telling you you’re awesome.”

For more pics from Jeremy‘s shoot, check out EmpireOnline.com!