eremy Renner has had an incredible last three years in show business. From being somebody who always worked on the fringes, he is now a twice-Oscar-nominated actor. The 41-year-old California native is now part of three really big Hollywood franchises and is developing a Steve McQueen biopic. Here are excerpts from our chat with the man ahead of The Avengers release in the UAE.
How have the Oscar nominations changed your life?
A lot of things around me have shifted and some in pretty great ways. Artistically, there are a lot more opportunities, bigger opportunities - big directors who love their cinema, the quality of scripts, the number of scripts, that sort of thing. That's really shifted for me. And people just being aware of who I am all of a sudden.
Now that you are big star, will you continue to do more independent projects?
Yeah, absolutely. I'll never, never abandon completely the stage where I started. I'm actually trying to do more of that next year. I'll see if I can find the energy to go and do that. It takes a lot out of you to do a stage play, but I'd love to do that. I'd love to continue to do challenging material; whatever shape or form that comes in.
So Marvel gave you an opportunity to set up your character in Thor to then expand on him in The Avengers. Is that a unique opportunity for an actor?
It's actually difficult because there was not a lot to do or say in Thor. I just stand in a bucket and hold my bow and arrow. Well, what's the character? I have no idea. I was thrown into that very quickly, and am I trapping myself? I don't know. So it's a little strange. I don't know if it's a good thing. I don't think I'd go about it normally that way, but it was certainly a different way to go about taking on a role. It was so small and minuscule, just saying a few lines. I think I felt like it would be hard to screw up.
Would you like to do a separate Hawkeye movie to explore the character deeper?
I don't know. There are a lot of variables in that one. If they'd want to make one, what would it be about? There are a lot of things to consider. I suppose if they all aligned, then it could be interesting, because I certainly like the character. But I don't know what the future holds.
Is The Avengers just a big ensemble piece?
It's huge. Huge. I mean, look at how many characters are in that thing. It was the ultimate challenge for Joss Whedon, who knows that universe so well. There's no one better to write it. He was so challenged to write and direct that thing. I don't know how you put that many characters in a movie like that. It's immense. But with that, you get to pass the baton. But you get to work with very few of your co-stars, because everybody's got their own thing going on. Someone's in the air, flying around, I'm on the ground, shooting a bow and arrow and whatever. There is a lot going on so I have no idea what that movie looks like. Usually I have a good idea of how a film's going to turn out because I've seen so much of it, but with this, I have no idea. I feel like I might be an extra in it, I'm not sure.
And how do you feel about being one of the Avengers?
It's great. It's an amazing cast, and I wish I got to do more with them. I had fun with the people I did get to work with.
Tells us about The Bourne Legacy.
I can't say a whole lot about it but what I can clarify is that there's been some confusion that I was taking over for Matt Damon. There's no taking over from Matt, he will always be Jason Bourne to that franchise. But the writer is consistent through them all. So it's the same writer, and he's also our director on this one. So, for the fan base that likes that type of movie, there'll be continuity with the previous films. The pace of it, the way that it's shot, just everything about it - you'll know it's a Bourne movie. There are just going to be different faces. There will be Ed Norton and Rachel Weisz, who are some of the most talented actors out there. But it'll be just a different programme, different spies, essentially. But it'll have the same sort of pace.
Have you spoken to Matt Damon?
Oh yeah. He's such a cool, grounded guy. He's worked with Dan Bradley, who did all the action on all the Bourne movies. He was the second unit director on Mission Impossible, so I was very happy to know that he was part of this Bourne movie too. Matt said, "Just trust that guy." I'm like, "Oh, yeah, perfect. You don't have to tell me. I've already worked with him. He's awesome."
You are also working on an untitled James Gray project. Does that count as counter-programming to all this action stuff?
That is a great opportunity, it's an amazing story. And I do it such injustice by giving it, you know, three words. But it's James Gray, man, and it has Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix - again, some of the best talent out there. It's not an action movie; I can actually take a break for my body and focus on just work, and the character and stuff. So that's refreshing. And to work with that calibre of talent is really exciting. And it's a small role. It's something we can shoot in a very short amount of time.
Are you careful not to choose similar kinds of roles to make sure you are not typecast?
I think that's where real life and cinema blend for me. I like to play unpredictable characters, and I like to be unpredictable in what movie I'll do. I want to skip to work. I don't want to repeat anything. So what the future holds, I don't know. But that's what I like. I'll take any risk there is, I'm not concerned about what people think or what they want. What matters to me is learning and growing and getting to skip to work and do what I love to do. As long as I can do that, I'm happy.
Your production company is in the process of developing a Steve McQueen biopic. What attracted you to the project?
It happened because a script came around, and they asked if I wanted to look at it and potentially play him. And I thought, "Ah, it's interesting." Obviously, I loved his movies, but wouldn't say like I was a massive fan of him, by any means. I've seen probably three of his movies. But then as it came around and I started to study him more and realised, "Wow, what a dichotomy of a human being." He's really, really interesting, outside of what most of us know him as - the King of Cool. But he was also the most insecure guy that ever lived, and all these other things that undercut what we know him as. So that was really interesting to me. I mean, I don't care if that's a fictitious character, or if that's a real person. That's just interesting to me. I felt the script was just a retelling of what everybody already knows about him, so that's why we're developing this thing from these images that I saw. For instance there's a photo of him in which a butcher in a shop is bandaging up his hand. The movie set's around the corner and he's just preparing to do a stunt, or just did the stunt of the famous bike jump or whatever stunt it was. Everybody knows about whatever that stunt is. So why talk about that? I want to know what that conversation was between the butcher and McQueen in that butcher shop. That's more interesting to me. I think an inside look into his life as a human being could be fascinating. So that's what we're exploring. James Gray is actually the one writing that.
So this is more of a personal look at him, than say a careerist view?
Yeah, you can't avoid that, but I'd rather have that be the backdrop of his life, and to see what it is like to walk into a room and everybody stares at you because they know exactly who you are. Not a lot of people know what that feels like. So let's allow people into that world. I think that's interesting.
It's still a daunting role to take on.
Yeah. I haven't seen the script. I'm already imagining it to be almost impossible, but I'd love to take on the challenge. It would be an honour.
