Clive Owen says he nearly turned down the chance to star in new thriller Inside Man.

According to TeenHollywood.com, the Derailed actor had reservations about acting from behind a mask, but eventually decided it would help "push [his] boundaries."

He revealed: "I really had to think about it (accepting the part). An actor uses their face to express themselves, that's how you do a performance and to have all of that taken away. It's strange. It was a very weird experience, because once we go inside the bank, I'm masked for pretty much the rest of the movie.

"You've got these fantastic scenes with people like Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster and you've got the mask on. It's very weird for them to act with as well, because they can't see the eyes. It was odd."