Three words -- The Hurt Locker. Jeremy Renner plays the film’s lead, Staff Sergeant William James, with a pitch-perfect mix of brutal violence and unexpected tenderness. Based on a book by the journalist Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow -- The Hurt Locker is not your ordinary war movie. Its focus is personal; its thrills sharp as razors and stretched taut. But in the end, it’s Renner’s incredible, stand-out performance that anchors the action. The Hurt Locker is perhaps one of the smartest and most revelatory movies ever made about the conflict in Iraq.
Born in California, the 38-year-old Renner has appeared in countless television shows and numerous films. He starred alongside Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and won an Independent Spirit award for his lead performance in Dahmer, portraying the infamous serial killer with an eerie poignancy. But The Hurt Locker is Renner’s tour de force. He plays James as if he is James -- and the result is thrilling: a breakout performance at the age of 38, which has won him critical accolades and one of the film's nine Oscar nominations.
Q1:
AskMen.com : When you entered this project, did you know it would be a passion that would consume so much of your time? If not, when did you realize that it would?
Jeremy Renner :
When I first got the script, I was in London filming 28 Days Later and I was so excited, I couldn’t stop thinking about the story. I was obsessed. I need to react to a script, to feel strongly about it in some way. And I need it to be a complex character for sure. And also, I think a lot about what kind of audience there is for the film, what they’re looking for and ways to connect with them in the playing of a character. Because it did take so long to produce, I spent a lot of time learning about the character, giving both Mark and Kathryn my thoughts on the character. Once Kathryn told me that it wasn’t going to go to anyone else, that the part was mine, I felt trusted and just threw myself into it.
Q2:
AM : Is a project like this something one can tackle alone, or do you need a support system?
JR :
The script is important -- the director, obviously, the cast, particularly on a project like The Hurt Locker. The people I’m going to be working and collaborating with are very important when I’m deciding to go into a project. So this was a role any actor would have wanted to play. I really connected with the material, the complexities and the richness of the role. On the page the material was already terrific, the character interesting and multifaceted. I related to the character personally in a lot of ways. I like the idea that he’s an anti-hero, that he’s not black and white. There are a lot of subtleties to him that I learned about as the project progressed.
Q3:
AM : How did you prepare for a role this intense?
JR :
I got to blow stuff up, which was my ultimate fantasy when I was 14 years old. I remember thinking: "Boy, this is awesome!" I also spent a lot of time at a military base in California, getting to know these people as individuals and getting involved with them as friends as well, having them come visit me, talking to them about their lives. We wanted to be as accurate as we could in portraying these people, who put their lives on the line for our freedoms and liberties. We wanted to maintain respect for the people that really do this kind of work.
Q4:
AM : What are some of the biggest obstacles that you encountered in production?
JR :
Filming in Jordon, although to film in Jordan was probably the biggest and best decision that was made. We weren’t sure where we were going to film at the beginning. But the movie would not be what it is without the architecture, the people, the feeling that we got from shooting in Jordan. There were elements of danger to be sure, but people were welcoming and helpful and it was just an incredible experience to be there.
Q5:
AM : How do you feel now that the project is over and it’s getting such incredible accolades?
JR :
We always knew, even at the beginning, that the film would move people, that it was special. And how lucky am I to have been part of it? I don’t take its success for granted for one moment.
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Reader Comments: 3 Posts
he was awesome as Dahmer
saw the movie last week, was a great portrayal of the daily struggles of our troops overseas in Iraq/Afghanistan, I hope it does well with the awards shows, and I know this won't be the last of Jeremy Renner
Have you seen The Hurt Locker? Do you think it deserves the praise it's getting? How do you feel about Jeremy Renner's performance?
Shawn Loeffler
Editor
What do you think?
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