- Braveheart (1995) pops into my mind. I like the graphic war element. It takes place in Scotland and England, and I love English history. (Cinematographer) John Toll is amazing. It's a gorgeous film. I've seen it 35 times.
- [on shooting The Hurt Locker (2008) in the unbearable heat of Jordan] We were already pushed to the limits. People wanted to quit. All the departments were struggling to get their jobs done, none of them were communicating. There was a lot of fighting going on. The heat does something to your brain, and on top of that I was in this bomb suit and I had explosive diarrhoea, so I was like: 'Get this thing off me!' I wanted to punch people. You could not pay me enough money to do it again.
- [2009, on his childhood] My sister was the complete opposite, she had a hard time growing up, and I was just always the happy kid. I played the drums, had my mullet, drove around on my motorcycle making out with chicks, just having a good ol' time. But it just happened while growing up - all these divorces, separations, moving to a different school every year - that things started to take a toll. The stage became a great playground for me to express feelings, and in my household there wasn't a place for me to do that. It was a great venue for me to hide in a character and express rage and sadness, and I created these really disturbed, complicated characters.
- [2009] Most people my age - and I'm going to my twenty-year reunion next weekend - they're all three divorces deep, and if they're happy, right on. But that just wasn't the path I wanted to go on. I was just getting into trouble, drinking, and doing stupid things until I stumbled onto acting class my junior year in college. The sense of self, the purpose. It opened this Pandora's box of emotions and it went from there.
- [on working with Ben Affleck on The Town (2010)] It was a lot of fun. We had a blast. It was like shooting a short film with one of your good buddies. He set a really good tone on the set, just really affable as a human being. He made it very pleasant for everyone...I always knew he was smart, because I'd see him on interviews and he was such a charming dude. And every day, I was surprised by just how smart he is. He's almost autistically smart, the guy is. It's ridiculous. And so experienced in the industry. He's obviously been through a lot, as an actor, as a writer, in good and bad ways. With that experience, he's very wise to a lot of things. And it's invaluable.
- [on playing Jeffrey Dahmer] Well you know it happened so fast...it was the complete opposite of The Hurt Locker (2008) where I had time to prepare. I mean, I didn't even know who Jeffrey Dahmer was, and then four days later after reading the script we're shooting principal photography, and two weeks later we're done. It was such a whirlwind.... I mean to relate to that experience, I had to do a lot of work and allow myself to go places that were a little scary. You know when you play a guy like that it allows you the freedom to explore really weird parts about you. And it's ok. In order to really get it, I've got to allow myself to go there.
- [2009, on his love of music] I started as a young man, as a drummer, then moved to guitar, and piano so I could song-write. I was always a singer. But I was always focused on being an actor as my trade. Music I do just for me. The movie business is very difficult but the music business is just impossible. So I'll play in bands and record and play songs with other people, but for me it's a form of expression that all I need is me. I don't need cameras or agents, I can just have a piano and sing and feel totally verified...I'm actually looking to do a project where I could really try to explore that a little bit more in cinema, a rock star or something. I'd really, really love to do that.
- [2009, on studio execs] I think it's standard for the industry, that people aren't that imaginative. And, you know, I understand it. Name an actor...like, you think of Bruce Willis, you think of Die Hard (1988) and all those movies and that thousand-yard stare. Well, he's a better actor than that. But you kind of have to prove that to them - what else you can do and what else you are - or they won't think that about you. Nor should they!
- [on fear] That emotion even conquers love, and that makes me sad. [on having spent eight years trying to analyze the roots of his own fear(s)] Finding out what I was afraid of, what stops you in your life, what gets in the way. Fear is just not a part of my life - so much so that if it's involved in somebody else's life and they're close to me, I won't be around them.
- I want my personal life to be personal ... And I don't care if you're talking about things that are true, you're still talking about my personal life. How about I go peek in your window, take what underwear you wore last night, whose husband you were fucking, and shove that in the megaphone throughout your neighborhood? How does that feel? It's none of your goddamn business.
- [on deciding whether or not to do The Bourne Legacy (2012)] It was a game-changer in anonymity, and I like my private life and my family. I had to consider how this was going to affect everyone I love -- especially myself.
- [on one Christmas Eve, when he was with his family in a bar] This guy chokes me with the scarf I was wearing. He called me a fag 'cause I was wearing a scarf! Then he shoved my sister and I got behind him and I choked him out - put him to sleep. [without any irony] I'm not violent.
- [on filming The Hurt Locker (2008)] People had full-on mental breakdowns; I did. Pure loneliness, that's what it came down to. It was a whole rainbow of good and bad.
- The Avengers (2012) was the first big movie I signed on to. It was something Zak Penn was the writer on; he's a friend. Then I met [Marvel Studios president and Avengers producer] Kevin Feige, and Zak was really pushing, saying 'You guys have got to hire Renner.'
- When you Google yourself and the first thing that comes up is 'Jeremy Renner gay,' it's like, 'Oh, now you've arrived. You're now a giant movie star.' So I just had a big laugh about it. I don't care, ultimately, if that's what people want to think, read and care about. Fucking say whatever the hell you want about me.
- [did he mind not having any action scenes in Rogue Nation?] No, no, I was never jealous. I was so happy to go to craft services and grab a donut, while they were, you know, doing burpees at 5:00 in the morning. If I was required to, that would have been fun, I would have done it, but I'm okay not doing stunts.
- (On The Kardashians) Oh, all those ridiculous people with zero talent who spend their lives making sure everyone knows their name. Those stupid, stupid people.
- [on Wind River (2017)] We are blessed and lucky that is something topical; it bodes well for our movie but that is not what we intended. This is a character drama on a reservation and about a community on that reservation
- [on working with Kathryn Bigelow in The Hurt Locker (2008)] She is tough, but Kathryn trusted me as I trusted her. She put me in positions to excel or suck. She is strong and mentally tough; unflappable, sweet, and tender. Thoughtful and emotionally intelligent. But do not mess with her. She will cut you down with words if she needs to. But she would rather not. She is a fantastic partner to work with
- Yeah, it was a joke, off-colored. Whatever. I'm unapologetic about a lot of things, but I got into a lot of Internet trouble. Because that's a thing now, you can get in. So, I was asked a question, like, Black Widow's been linked to Hawkeye, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, and Captain America. So, what do you think about that? Well, I said: sounds like she's a slut. Mind you, I was talking about a fictional character and fictional behavior, but... if you slept with four of the six Avengers - no matter how much fun you had, you'd be a slut, just saying.
- I have never been to war and I never want to go to war. I don't have the courage or the balls to do what these guys do. This movie [The Hurt Locker (2008)] was as close as I ever want to get. It was really intense and I'm glad it was. I'm glad we didn't shoot on a sound stage in Arizona.
- [asked if he'd ever appear in a musical] I grew up as a singer. Listen, in the old days James Cagney played tough shoot-'em-up bad guys plus song-and-dance musicals. So, don't give up on me.
- [on his joke about Jennifer Lopez's "globes" at the Golden Globes]: It's my sense of humor. I don't take things too seriously. I didn't watch any of the Globes. I went to have a drink at the bar, and I kept hearing people all night saying, "Dude, that was the funniest thing," "Bro, that was the best part of the show." I was like, What are you talking about? I was clueless...Everybody's entitled to an opinion, but I can't be bothered. We gave zero f-ks. I would have made a public apology if it really hurt her feelings. It was the complete opposite, and she's gone on record as saying she thinks Renner's hysterical.
- [on his first girlfriend]: I think she's still in Modesto, married and has some kids. But I have no idea what she thinks. Maybe she goes to the movies and thinks, Okay, Hawkeye was my first. Or she could have a voodoo doll of me, for all I know.
- I'm saddened by those that misinterpret the Demand a Plan PSA I participated in. In short, we asked our leaders for a plan, hence, 'Demand a Plan,' and it's most certainly not stripping us of our rights as Americans; that is absolutely asinine. Taking guns from people is no answer. I own guns and want to keep it that way. But guns don't kill people... people kill people. I believe our salvation begins in each of our homes. It starts with parenting, which has become increasingly more challenging in recent years. In a communication age where technology is growing at a much faster rate than we can truly understand, our youth has available to them more information and access to pretty much everything before they are socially and mentally matured.
- [after coming under fire for his "not my job" remarks]: So to set the record straight and give some clarity to how I feel, which seems not to have been reported in its entirety ... on the issue of gender equality I have always supported women deserving equal pay. Period. A person should be rewarded only by their merit or service to their given field. Gender, race, creed, or sexual orientation should have absolutely no influence in pay, positively or negatively.
- My only thought is politics and cinema, they don't match, they don't go together. I think cinema should provoke thoughts, sure, but using it as I soapbox I think is the wrong place. I never want to be part of something like that, where there's an agenda there that's not about telling a story, where its someone getting on a soapbox and preaching their own beliefs onto somebody. Personally I like cinema like The Hurt Locker, because it doesn't tell you what to feel or what to think. But it does tell you to think and to feel.
- I'm very lucky. I could have pretty easily been driving a forklift.
- [on his Avengers: Endgame (2019) haircut] I think it's a reverse mullet. [laughs] I didn't go into Supercuts and say, "Hey, shave the sides of my head!" Yeah, it's for the movie we're shooting right now. [asked if it's a spoiler] I think it may just be a haircut.
- I'd like to have eight [kids] running around. A gaggle, a little clan. But at this point, that's not in my future.
- I don't know, I don't find myself very PC.
- [on his first Oscar nomination]: It was like you're playing baseball your whole life and then you suddenly get on a team and go to the World Series. All of a sudden I was "the new guy in town" after being here 20 years. I was like, "That's fine by me, I'll be the new guy."
- I did take some archery, but I realized very quickly that I couldn't really use it in the film. It ended up being superhero archery. It's nice to know the technique behind it, but I was shooting behind my back and over my shoulder. But, I did give it a go. I shot a few bales of hay, and missed a few. Most of the physical part was just stretching, so I didn't get injured. But, you get banged around every day when it's hand-to-hand stuff. Scarlett and I beat each other up pretty good. It was fun.
- [The Jungle Book (1967)]: I love the music and the archetypes represented in the movie stick with me. Strong character. The characters just stand out as some of the best, and I love, love, love the music. There's really good bad guys, really good good guys. I love it. Love it, love it. And it's a cartoon so it's one of those things that stuck with me as a kid and still watch it to this day.
- Nobody knows what charities I support, I don't go out and tweet about this and that. I just go and do stuff. I'd rather affect one person's life than try to change the planet with this and that, this and that, and scream and shout about this problem and that problem, and this and that. It's just too many problems. If I'm going to affect one thing, then I'm going to affect that. And you do something, instead of just talking. It's a sort of rhetoric, just like politics. It's like rhetoric. Why don't you do something?
- Dahmer (2002) really messed with me for a couple of years, that role. I couldn't go into bars alone. I still really can't. It makes me think about how easy it is to put something in someone's drink and then have your way with them. I mean, oh my gosh. It's just one of those things where someone who has a lot of free time can do a lot of good, or a lot of bad.
- Before The Avengers (2012), the kids would run away from me. But now that I play a superhero, you know, they come around and it's the most amazing thing. [asked why he frightened children] It's my resting face, I was born with it. I built a career around it ... I'm thinking, oh my God, that's a beautiful suit, but if I'm just thinking about it, it looks like I might want to choke you.
- Ava [his daughter] doesn't need to see anything I do. She's been on a lot of movie sets, but she doesn't need to see the output. I don't care if she ever does.
- [Hawkeye's family] was the greatest gift ... from the writers and Kevin Feige, and Joss Whedon at the time. You know, a superhero with no superpowers. Well, that's a superpower. Don't mess with a man's family.
- [Which politician would he like to meet?] If I were to meet a politician. . . I would love to meet [then Vice President] Joe Biden. He reminds me of my father [and] of my godfather - he is affable and kind of punchy, and I think it would be a really fun meeting.
- When I saw Iron Man, I thought that was a really kick-ass approach to superheroes. Then they told me about this Hawkeye character, and I liked how he wasn't really a superhero; he's just a guy with a high skill set. I could connect to that.
- I like showing up on sets. I feel blessed to be able to play make-believe for a living. It's my job.
- We can croak at any moment doing the stupidest things. It would be a great disservice to [Ava] if, when she was older, she thought, Dad stopped riding motorcycles or started getting soft and protective of his own life because he wanted to be around for me. What message does that send? That living life with fear is a good thing? I'd rather that she knows I'd go out with a smile on my face living accountably, consciously and responsibly in my actions.
- I'm blessed to have cool roles in these big movies. Because nothing against 'Transformers,' but thank God I don't have to do a monologue to a robot. I don't know how Shia [LaBeouf], God bless him, does that.
- I wanted to explore the loss, the character themes. He [Cory Lambert]'s carrying the weight and the burden of being a father, the righteousness, the humility. A movie like Wind River lets me flex a bit and go deep, use all six gears.
- [in response to Stephen Amell's statement that Green Arrow could beat Hawkeye 'in any contest'] I'm happy that fictitious character can beat this other fictitious character in any random contest that he would like to challenge him to. I'm happy for that.
- The Burj Khalifa thing, since we're talking about Tom [Cruise] and stunts, that is something I would not have done, ever. No way. Just hanging out [of the window] to grab onto him was terrifying.
- Being a family man is a beautiful grounding rod for superheroes that fly around with hammers and lightning... What does it matter at the end? What are we all fighting for? I feel like Clint has the best gig, in the sense where the reality is that we can all go back to family.
- You'll never see this face doing a romantic comedy, it's just not gonna happen.
- So, I was like, into computer science and criminology, I thought being a cop or a detective would be cool, and realized it's too much work. So I became an actor.
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