Jeremy Renner---the next superstar?

 By James Colt Harrison

With two blockbuster films opening this summer, The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy, actor Jeremy Renner’s stock in Hollywood will go up a thousand per cent.

With the action-adventure fantasy The Avengers the first release, Renner plays the 20-20 visionary Hawkeye. He joins forces with Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron man (Robert Downey, Jr.), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to defeat Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the dastardly brother of Thor. Loki is seeking revenge for being exiled and threatens to destroy the earth. Renner takes on his first fantasy-action role, although he is no stranger to high testosterone films.

As a country boy born January 7, 1971, in Modesto, California, he grew up with five younger siblings. His blonde German looks are derived from his father, and his mom is Irish. With a normal upbringing before his parents divorced, he attended Modesto Junior College. It was there his interest in acting was ignited. A move to Los Angeles was the next logical move.

He managed to snag a small role in 1995’s National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, which led to a lot of roles on television. He appeared in such shows as CSI: Crime Investigation and House. But it was his lead role as killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the independent film Dahmer (2002) that brought him to the attention of Hollywood moguls. He was nominated as Best Male Lead for the Independent Spirit Awards. He slogged around the studios for several more years, interspersing television roles with leads in small independent films (A Little Trip to Heaven with Julia Stiles in 2005) and a small bit in the “A” picture  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt in 2007.

Renner’s big break came with his starring role in 2009’s Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker. The film won the Oscar® for Best Picture, and Renner was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award®. Audiences who had never heard of him now took notice.

His winning streak continued in 2010 when he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for his role in Ben Affleck’s hard-hitting Boston drama, The Town. His career was gaining momentum, and his roles became better. He went on to film the Tom Cruise spy thriller Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol, shot in Dubai for release in December 2011. The film became a world-wide box office smash, and Renner’s career got another giant boost.

After The Avengers opens in May, Renner will next star in the new Jason Bourne episode The Bourne Legacy, the first film in the series without Matt Damon. Have no fear---Renner is not taking over Damon’s part, but he is playing a new character named Aaron Cross in director Tony Gilroy’s fourth film in the franchise. They are leaving room for Damon’s return at a future date. So, the $125 million film’s success hangs on the formidable back of Mr. Renner. Have no fear---he’s up to the task and will emerge as one of the biggest leading men in films today.

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