Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner’s career took a sharp turn towards stardom after 2009. Since the two Academy Award nominations for Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker (2009) and Ben Affleck’s The Town (2010), he hasn’t looked back. His latest film, The Avengers, releases in India today, a week before it hits theatres in the US. And his next most talked-about film role after that, undeniably, has to be The Bourne Legacy. For the fourth film in the series, Renner takes on the role of Jason Bourne (Matt Damon).
“It’s hard to understand, how in theory you can do a Jason Bourne movie without Jason Bourne. But that’s why it’s called The Bourne Legacy, where Bourne still exists and there’s another programme,” says Renner.
“Director-writer Tony Gilroy has been honest to not only please the audience, but also carry on the franchise. The Bourne series was kind of getting capped out with the ‘who am I?’ sort of thing.”
His last release, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was also an action film like Marvel Studios’ upcoming 3D venture, that is being distributed in India by UTV Motion Pictures.
“The Avengers was always around. And for MI:4 I just happened to be in the office where Tom Cruise was, and he said, ‘What about Renner for Mission?’. Normally I wouldn’t say yes to so many action movies, but these were opportunities that I couldn’t refuse,” smiles the actor.
After doing a cameo in Thor (2011), Renner will introduce Hawkeye for the first time in a significant role in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. “There are so many questions about the character; even I want to explore him more. But I don’t know what the framework for (a solo film) can be,” says Renner, who didn’t want to know too much about the part before stepping on the sets. “I knew his backstory, but for the film I just approached him as a human being with a high skill set.”
After doing a cameo in Thor (2011), Renner will introduce Hawkeye for the first time in a significant role in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. “There are so many questions about the character; even I want to explore him more. But I don’t know what the framework for (a solo film) can be,” says Renner, who didn’t want to know too much about the part before stepping on the sets. “I knew his backstory, but for the film I just approached him as a human being with a high skill set.”
However, the highlight of his career remains Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker. The film won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
“That… took off on a life of its own,” reminisces Renner, before going silent for a few seconds when asked how much his status has been altered since then. “Don’t know about change, but life sure has been affected.”