Actor Jason Bateman has become a germaphobe since turning 40 - because he's increasingly worried he'll catch a virus and die an untimely and horrible death.

The Hancock star hit the milestone in January and, although he is in good shape for his age, Bateman admits he has developed a fear of dying.

He says, "Forty's OK, it's a little bit different. I mean, I feel young and I look young, but I'm becoming very afraid of my mortality because I'm pretty much halfway to death. If I live to 90, then yeah, I'm pretty much halfway to death. I've become more aware of germs."

And Bateman has one particular pet peeve that only serves to heighten his awareness of germs - taking his shoes off when going through airport security.

He adds, "I can't do it anymore. I smell the thousands of people who had gone before me. I made the mistake of looking down on the floor and seeing the condensation footsteps.

"I have no choice but to walk on these footprints in my socks and they absorb my perspiration and this guy's perspiration and I can't walk around it (footprints) because it's such a small, narrow area."