‘Jason Bourne’ lead Actor Matt Damon Commends Australia for Strict Gun Control Legislation, Gains Back Weight for Role on Upcoming Comedy Film

‘Jason Bourne’ lead actor Matt Damon commended Australia for implementing strict gun control legislation. He also admitted that he’s gaining weight he lost as Jason Bourne for a role in an upcoming comedy film with director Alexander Payne.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Damon praised Australia for its strict gun control measures and hoped that the United States would soon follow in its lead. Damon was in Sydney to promote the upcoming fifth film in the ‘Bourne’ cinematic series.

He said, "You guys did it here in one fell swoop and I wish that could happen in my country, but it's such a personal issue for people that we cannot talk about it sensibly. We just can't… People get so emotional that even when you make a suggestion about not selling AK47s to people on terror watch lists, that's a non-starter. I don't know what needs to happen.”

Damon added, "It's wonderful what Australia did because you guys haven't had a mass shooting since you went, 'No, we're going to be sensible about this.' And nobody's rights have been infringed, you guys are fine… I wish we could be sensible like that but I don't think that's going to happen in my lifetime."

Although the actor and filmmaker is outspoken against gun violence, his character Jason is not a stranger to the use of arms. He plays the titular amnesiac spy on the run from the government as he attempts to recover pieces of his past.

When asked about the upcoming film, Damon teased that the world has changed significantly and that it will be quite different from preceding installments. He said, “We weren't doing a retread of the last story. It feels thematically very different, starting with an austerity riot in Greece. It feels very current and the world is demonstrably different than it was 10 years ago and in a post-Edward Snowden world. It just felt like there was enough there that we wanted to see what Bourne's character reaction would be to this new world."

Director Paul Greengrass’ upcoming film will mark Damon’s fourth appearance as Bourne in the highly popular action-thriller film series.

The Oscar-winning actor skipped out on the preceding film ‘The Bourne Legacy’ and was replaced by Jeremy Renner as the film’s lead protagonist, Aaron Cross. Tony Gilroy’s installment received mixed reviews from critics, with numerous fans expressing disappointment over Damon’s absence.  According to Box Office Mojo, the 2012 release grossed $276.14 million worldwide against a $125 million production budget.

Meanwhile, Damon revealed that he was changing up his diet once more for a new role in the upcoming comedy flick ‘Downsizing’. According to the Daily Mail, he explained that director Alexander Payne joked about having him eat some marshmallow pasta in order to gain some much needed weight for his character.

Damon admitted during a previous interview that he found strict diets intimidating since he enjoyed “burgers and beer” too much. He revealed that he had to follow a workout routine to get in shape as Jason Bourne. He said, “You are running, jumping and fighting, doing all sorts of things.”

‘Jason Bourne’ is an upcoming thriller-action film co-written and directed by Paul Greengrass. It is scheduled to premiere on July 29, 2016.