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Matt Damon, 41: I Hate Filming Shirtless Scenes

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Matt Damon works hard for his hot body — but audiences may never see the results.

"On the first Bourne movie, I was in the best shape of my life, and we purposely never did a shot of me with my shirt off," the father of four tells Parade. "I try to stay away from the beefcake shots."

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Though the We Bought a Zoo star, 41, has never relied on his good looks alone to sell a movie, Damon recently learned his appeal isn't what it used to be.

"I was down by NYU getting a cup of coffee at Starbucks, and there were a bunch of college-age students working there. The girl at the counter said, 'Oh, wow, I just loved you in The Departed.' I said, 'Thanks a lot.' And she goes, 'I know, I know, it was a long time ago.' And I thought, well, there you go. Because to her, if she's 19, it probably came out when she was 13 or 14, so it feels like a generation ago."

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"Every five years there's a new crop [of moviegoers], and they have no idea who you are," Damon explains. "If your identity is somehow tied to that, you're in deep trouble. Because if it's not happening now, it's going to happen at some point."

Up next for Damon, who has four daughters with wife of six years Luciana Barroso: An untitled legal drama with John Krasinski, who's married to Damon's Adjustment Bureau costar Emily Blunt.

Related: PHOTOS: Matt and other star dads on duty

"It's about a salesman who goes to a small town and is changed by [the experience]. It's been really fun writing with John. It reminds me of writing with Ben [Affleck]. What worked about writing as partners was that it's like ping pong. Nobody arrives with a complete idea," Damon tells Parade. "I went into it without any real expectations. I liked spending time with John. But it took on a life of its own and got really exciting."

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