Vincent Cassel

MATT Damon’s amnesiac agent has been brainwashed, tortured, double-crossed, beaten, shot, blown up and half drowned. Now in Jason Bourne, the fifth chapter of the spy series, he faces up to one of Hollywood’s scariest actors. Since his breakout role in 1995 in gritty, French drama La Haine, Vincent Cassel has fully embraced his dark side. The Paris-born star’s roles include a Russian psycho in Eastern Promises, a master thief in Ocean’s Twelve and a bullying ballet teacher in Black Swan. Now British director Paul Greengrass has hired him to chase Bourne across Europe as a CIA assassin known only as The Asset.

With the film out on Wednesday, Vincent talked us through his role. Q: Could you tell us about your character and how he fits into the story? A: Well, each Bourne movie has an ‘asset’ and I’m the new asset. I think this time Paul (Greengrass) tried to give him a little more depth so we get to understand a bit of why he is doing all of that, why he is so angry with Jason Bourne. And, you know, it’s a little more personal than in the last movies.