The actor is famous for appearing shirtless as a romantic lead in a string of films including `How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days` and `Failure to Launch`, but he is ready for more edgy roles, such as playing a ruthless hitman in `Killer Joe`.

He told Shortlist magazine: "It`s another chapter for sure. I did have to say no to a lot of romantic comedies. I think Hollywood got a little bit like, `OK, he seriously doesn`t want to do any more of these right now.`

"And however the world works, something happened and the message got out."

The 42-year-old star - who is married to Brazilian model Camila Alves, with whom he has two children, son Levi and daughter Vida - knew `Killer Joe` was the right role for him to refresh his career after he felt sick when first reading the script.

He added: "The first time I read `Killer Joe` I thought, `I don`t want anything to do with this. I feel sick to my stomach and I need to take a shower.`

"I went back and read it again and suddenly it clicked. Oh, `this is a riot man. It was exactly what it was looking for. I was like, yeah, this acting thing, it`s a rodeo. All right, lets go ride the bull. Let`s go shake some s**t up!"

`Killer Joe` is in cinemas at the end of this month.
sections: Celebrities