“Hurt Locker” star Jeremy Renner hit New York this week with a thunderclap. On Tuesday morning he and co-star Anthony Mackie were on the “Today” show when word came that Renner was nominated for an Academy Award — best actor. He and Mackie embraced. Back in September 2008, when “The Hurt Locker” debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, it was an indie film with no budget. The actors had no publicists. The whole thing was a crap shoot.
Now Mackie is rehearsing on Broadway for a major play. And Renner did “Letterman” and some other shows. I ran into him last night at the Greenwich Hotel having drinks. He’d just been at dinner up at Elaine’s with his manager Beth Holden and publicist Sue Patricola and the famed Bobby Zarem. When the waitresses at the Greenwich realized who he was, they fetched Renner his favorite drink: Woodford Reserve mash bourbon. It went down smooth. He was joined for a bit by Oscar Isaac, from the upcoming “Sucker Punch” and “Robin Hood.” Isaac just found out his long-awaited “Agora” opens in May.
A year ago, Renner was on a short-lived TV series that followed “Lost” and no one remembers. “The Hurt Locker” was still mostly unknown to everyone. Now he’s a star. He just finished “The Town,” directed by Ben Affleck, with Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively. It sounds like a winner.
What did he do before this? In 2002, he played Jeffrey Dahmer in a feature film. Don’t hold it against him. No one knew he’d be an overnight sensation after 15 years in the business.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:24 am
he was great on my favourite movie of the last decade
ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAmes by coward robert ford.
February 4th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
He played Gamble in the movie SWAT with Colin Farrell
February 4th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
He was wonderful in the Hurt Locker. I can remember almost every breath taking scene, esp the one where he had to find the bomb in the car outside the UN embassy.
February 4th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
I remember the TV series that Jeremy Renner was on last year that “no one remembers”: It was called “The Unusuals”. A great show that ABC should have given a little longer to gel with the viewers. It also starred Amber Tamblyn, Adam Goldberg and Harold Perrineau (of Lost). Jeremy was great in it. Too bad it didn’t last. Good for Jeremy, though, on his Oscar nod.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I liked “The Unusuals” too. I think the show title, though, was not the best. On the other hand, “Lost” has a great title, but I don’t watch that show, and won’t miss it when it’s done.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I remember seeing him for the first time in the tv show Angel, where he played an excellent character, mainly due to his acting abilities.
then he kept appearing in such films like SWAT and jesse james. But The Hurt Locker is definitly his breakthrough performance which is much deserved now and the world can see his acting talent and i hope that the only way is up for him as we need to see more of him. Although i dont think he will win it, i will esupportng him at the oscars
February 6th, 2010 at 5:13 am
Great performance in an incredibly moving film! God bless our brave service men and women who are performing these duties in real time! Jeremy and his fellow cast members honored them with their performances. Good luck to Jeremy and the film at the Academy Awards!
February 11th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Yes, now I remember. He was on Angel and I think the episode was called Somnabilist or something like that. He played a vampire. He was very appealing in it although he played a bad guy.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Not going to comment on the actor and his role – walked out of the theater after about 30 minutes, could not stand the complete and utter bull crap that’s not only an insult to ANYBODY who’s even REMOTELY affiliated with the military, but an insult to basic intelligence.
“Hurt Locker” truly does hurt – it’s the “Top Gun” of military flicks and not in a funny way like “Hot Shots”. Just never ending made up crap all over the place parading as the “Hamburger Hill” of the era. Not to be sexist, but if a woman is directing a script about specific military operations would it hurt to hire a military consultant?
No really, if I was asked to comment on the world of woman’s modeling I would not reach for a Cosmo or what ever the most popular magazine is, I would make a call to modeling agency. On that note, “Gia” was most likely a more accurate portrayal of a modeling world then “Hurt Locker” of a simple swivel walk through in a war zone.
What a fraking shame, and it will be getting Oscars? Simply wrong, and it doesn’t matter how well the actors/crew performed – “crap in crap out”, the script is CRAP and director is OBLIVIOUS to the actual NATURE of the TOPIC!
September 4th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Loved The Hurt Locker. To the poster who found the film insulting. I’m not sure how. That’s the first I’ve heard it anywhere that anybody was insulted by the film. The military raved about the film in a positive way.