Did You Know Jeremy Renner Told Marvel To Recast His Hawkeye Role?
The Thanksgiving weekend saw the premiere of the first two episodes of Hawkeye on Disney+. Jeremy Renner takes on the role of the man with bow and arrow for the sixth time, a decade after Thor, The Avengers, Age of Ultron, Civil War and Endgame. The series not only confronts him with his own Ronin past, but also unites him with Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Seinfeld, whom he trains to become the next Hawkeye. Being a part of the Avengers is probably the role that Renner is most associated with, but a few years back it was quite likely that Marvel would stop working with him and recast the role of Hawkeye. Twice!
Renner had his theatrical debut in National Lampoon’s Senior Trip in 1995, but before that, and during the early days of his career, he had various jobs, like being a makeup-artist at shopping malls, or renovating houses that were built in the 1920s and making them work for today’s living. Throughout the years he frequently switched between big blockbuster movies, like the The Bourne Legacy or two Mission Impossible films (Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation) and smaller, more independent films. He was nominated for an Oscar two times, for The Hurt Locker in 2010 and then again, the very next year for The Town.
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But Renner really became a household name after he took on the role of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye in Thor. Renner likes this character. “I can access this. I get this”, he says of the superhero without superpowers. Hawkeye is no genetically altered supersoldier, no Nordic god, no genius inventor in an impenetrable suit, just a “guy with a high skill set and nothing to lose.”
Throughout the various films of the MCU the audience also learns that Hawkeye is a family man, who loves his wife and his children, something that the Avenger also has in common with the man who embodies him. In 2013, his daughter Ava was born to his then-wife Sonni Pacheco, also an actress. This changed Renner’s perspective and his priorities. For a year and a half, he flew from London to L.A each weekend, just to see his daughter and spend time with her, be it only a few hours. This time was sacred to Renner. When it came to negotiate with Marvel, he stood up to the entertainment juggernaut and said:
“Everyone, f**k off. It is my time with my daughter.”
Friends warned him that having such an attitude could lead to Marvel firing him, but Renner simply said:
“Fine, recast me. I’m going to be here with my daughter.”
Marvel didn’t fire Renner then, nor recast Hawkeye. Now the actor insists on being able to visit Ava every weekend on each of his projects, or he passes. Renner and Pacheco split in 2014 after only 10 months of marriage. The divorce and the ensuing fight over custody and child support was a rather nasty one. Pacheco accused Renner of “ongoing substance abuse” and that he had talked about killing her and himself. Renner always denied these accusations, but still his career with Marvel was in jeopardy once more. Disney is not known for taking bad press of one of its “employees” lightly, as James Gunn had to find out the hard way, after some really stupid tweets from his youth were unearthed and he was fired from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Ultimately, Disney decided on not replacing Renner as Hawkeye.
Working as an actor has made Renner a wealthy man. He owns a big ranch in Nevada, where he collects vehicles. Unlike other Hollywood celebrities, he doesn’t invest in sportscars or Hummers, but in old fire trucks, utility vans and ambulances, that he carefully restores and puts to good use. Be it as an additional defense line against the growing danger of wildfires in the Western USA, as a party vehicle for kids, as mobile barbershops, or rolling gyms.
Renner admits that he has no idea what the future of Clint Barton/Hawkeye will be after the end of the six-episode miniseries, saying;
"I don't have a crystal ball, or I'm not a soothsayer, but having Hailee [Steinfeld] come in, and these characters, I think it opens it up for six great episodes for this event type of television. After that, I have no idea. But these six episodes are pretty exciting."
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Sources: CBR, Men's Health