Life and career
Renner was born January 7, 1971 in Modesto, California, the son of Valerie Cearley and Lee Renner.[1] He has four younger siblings. He graduated from Fred C. Beyer High School and attended Modesto Junior College.[2]
Renner has made a career out of playing charismatic anti-heroes. He has portrayed an eighteenth-century vampire, a gun-toting alcoholic, and a notorious serial killer, among other film roles. In addition to having done extensive theater work, Renner has starred in several major independent films, including the 2009 Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker (directed byKathryn Bigelow) which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He received several other major awards for Best Actor for this role.
He portrayed serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer, which earned Renner his first Independent Spirit Award Best Actor nomination. He also played the antagonist in the big budget film S.W.A.T. and has played supporting roles in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and 28 Weeks Later. In 2005 he won the Best Actor award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival for his role in Neo Ned.
In 2010, Renner's performance in Ben Affleck's The Town alongside Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Slaine and Michael Yebba garnered him rave reviews, including multiple award nominations. In February 2011, Renner announced that he would cameo as Hawkeye in Thor in order for people to be familiar with his character for the upcoming The Avengers.[3]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Deadly Games | Tod | Episode: "Boss" |
1996 | Strange Luck | Jojo Picard | Episode: "Blinded by the Son" |
1996 | A Friend's Betrayal | Paul's friend | TV movie |
1997 | A Nightmare Come True | Steven Zarn | |
1999 | Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane | Jack | Pilot episode |
1999 | The Net | Ted Nida | Episode: "Chem Lab" |
1999 | Time of Your Life | Taylor | Episode: "The Time the Truth Was Told" |
2000 | Angel | Penn | Episode: Somnambulist |
2001 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Roger Jennings | Episode: Alter Boys |
2002 | The It Factor | Himself | |
2007 | House | Jimmy Quidd | Episode: "Games" |
2008 | The Oaks | Dan | |
2009 | The Unusuals | Detective Jason Walsh | Main cast, 10 episodes |
[edit]Music work
- North Country Soundtrack (2005) performed "I Drink Alone"
- Performed with the band Sons of Ben
- Performed "American Pie" in Love Comes to the Executioner
- Campfire performance of "Good Ole Rebel" in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
- Pink's Trouble music video as a Bad Boy Sheriff (2003)