Jeremy Renner does his own stunts in 'The Bourne Legacy'.

The 'Avengers' actor is taking on the leading role in a reboot of the franchise - best known for the three movies starring Matt Damon - and director and co-writer Tony Gilroy confirms the star does his own action scenes, something that surprised him.

Tony said: ''I was made aware as we were starting to get involved and then as we started pre-production [that] he is a physical freak. It is unbelievable. There are a couple guys out there that are like that, but they are very few and far between. He moves. He fights. He rides. He swims. He jumps, better than the stunt people.

''There are a couple people out there that you hear are like that. I hear Channing Tatum is a mindblower when it comes to learning stunts. You know Tom Cruise does all his stunts. Jeremy is right there.''

Tony also believes it is not necessary to see the previous three films before seeing the new instalment.

He added to MTV News: ''You should be able to see the movie and not see any of them before. It's been kind of ironic.

''The people that were having the most trouble getting their heads around the fact that we were doing this are actually the people who I think will ultimately be the most happy about what we're doing. It has a lot of payback for the true fans.''