Background

Ethnicity: Jeremy Renner has Panamanian, German, English, Scottish, Swedish, and Irish ancestry. His maternal grandmother was born in Panama, with roots in Jamaica, and was of at least part black ancestry.

Jeremy Renner was born on January 7, 1971, in Modesto, California, the United States, to Valerie Cearley and Lee Renner, who managed a bowling alley. His parents married as teenagers and divorced when he was ten.

He is the oldest of seven siblings. His youngest brother was born in the year 2011, making Renner a new big brother at the age of 40.

Education

Renner graduated from Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto in 1989. While attending Modesto Junior College, he took a drama class, where he developed a passion for acting. Despite initially studying computer science and criminology, he decided to move to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue his acting dream.

Career

In 1995, Jeremy Renner made his feature film debut in the cult favorite National Lampoon's Senior Trip. This was followed by guest appearances on the shows Deadly Games and Strange Luck. He also had a minor role in the TV film A Friend's Betrayal. In 1998, Jeremy starred in and co-directed a play entitled Search and Destroy. Director Barry Levinson was so impressed by Renner's work that he financed the play's run.

Over the next few years, Renner appeared on several other television shows, including Zoe, Duncan, Jack, and Jane (1999), The Net (1999), The Time of Your Life (1999), Angel (2000), and CSI (2001). It was on the set of Angel that Renner met Joss Whedon, his future director on The Avengers.

After several commercials and supporting roles in television movies and series, Renner captured the attention of critics with his gripping, complex portrayal of the infamous serial killer in the 2002 film Dahmer (2002). Renner's performance, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination, is especially remarkable for painting a humane and sympathetic, yet deeply disturbing, portrait of the title character.

Soon afterward, in 2003, Renner appeared in the mainstream film S.W.A.T., alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. Jeremy starred or co-starred in nine films over the next half-decade, including the critically acclaimed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, in which he played Wood Hite, and Neo Ned, in which he played a neo-nazi skinhead. For his role in Neo Ned, Jeremy received the Palm Beach International Film Festival award for best actor. He also appeared in 28 Weeks Later, the highly-anticipated sequel to 28 Days Later.

In 2007, Kathryn Bigelow, impressed by Renner's work in Dahmer, cast him as the self-assured leader of a bomb-disposal unit in The Hurt Locker. This marked the turning point in Jeremy's career. This critically-acclaimed film, released in 2009, earned Renner several acting awards, as well as his first Academy Award nomination. The film itself also won many awards, including the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year. This recognition, combined with his second Academy Award nomination the following year (for The Town), cemented Renner's status as one of the best up-and-coming actors.

Following the success of The Hurt Locker, Jeremy was cast in several major studio films, including Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Bourne Legacy, and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. In 2011, Renner joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hawkeye, the world's greatest marksman. Jeremy's first appearance as Hawkeye was a cameo in Thor. This was followed by The Avengers, the highest-grossing film of 2012 and one of the highest-grossing film of all time, The Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, and Captain America: Civil War in 2016. Also in 2015, Renner reprised his role as William Brandt in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation.

Other films in which Renner has appeared include the critically acclaimed David O. Russell film American Hustle, in which he portrayed Carmine Polito, James Gray's The Immigrant, in which he portrayed Orlando the Magician, and Kill the Messenger, in which he portrayed journalist, Gary Webb. Most recently, he has appeared in the critically acclaimed films Arrival, in which he portrayed physicist Ian Donnelly, Wind River, in which he portrayed game hunter Cory Lambert, Tag, in which he portrayed Jerry Pierce, and Avengers: Endgame, in which he reprised his role as Hawkeye. Upcoming projects include Spawn with Jamie Foxx, a Hawkeye limited series on Disney+, and Renner's first animated film, Arctic Dogs, for which he wrote the entire soundtrack and will be voicing the lead character Swifty the arctic fox.

In 2011, Renner and his partner Don Handfield formed their own production company, The Combine. Kill the Messenger was the first film produced by the company. Additional titles produced by The Combine include the Crackle original film The Throwaways, The Founder, a biopic of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, and Knightfall, a History Channel series about the Knights Templar. The Combine is also publishing a series of graphic novels entitled The Rift.

In addition to acting and producing, Jeremy is also a singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer. He has performed in several of his films, including The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, North Country, Love Comes to the Executioner and Tag. He has also released five solo singles, as well as a documentary about the making of the Arctic Dogs soundtrack. Jeremy also runs a successful house-renovating business in Los Angeles with his friend Kristoffer Winters.

Achievements

• 

  Renner's performance as a single-minded bomb specialist in The Hurt Locker (2008) scored him an Academy Award nomination for best actor. He also earned the best actor nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Screen Actors Guild, and the BAFTA Awards, as well as wins in this category from several film critics groups.
  
  His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $9.8 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.
  
  Renner appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including Esquire, GQ, Men's Health, and others.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Mission: Impossible V - Rogue Nation

    (With the IMF disbanded, Ethan and his team join forces wi...)

    2015
  • The Hurt Locker

    (When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained b...)

    2008
  • Dahmer

    (Based on the true story of Jeffrey Dahmer (Jeremy Renner)...)

    2002
  • Lords Of Dogtown

    (See how extreme sports got its start with this critically...)

    2005
  • The Bourne Legacy

    (Agent Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) must use his geneticall...)

    2012
  • The Immigrant

    (Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jeremy Renner star...)

    2013
  • 12 and Holding

    (After his twin brother is accidentally killed by vengeful...)

    2005
  • Kill The Messenger

    (An investigative reporter (Jeremy Renner) attempts to pro...)

    2014
  • Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters

    (Get ready for a twisted take on the classic tale as Hanse...)

    2013
  • Take

    (The lives of two strangers intersect, Ana, a struggling m...)

    2007
  • American Hustle

    (From the director of Silver Linings Playbook and The Figh...)

    2013
  • 28 Weeks Later

    (28 Weeks Later, the follow-up to the hugely successful 28...)

    2007
  • Neo Ned

    (In this quirky love story, an unlikely couple meet at a m...)

    2005
  • The Town

    (Ben Affleck directed and stars in this acclaimed thriller...)

    2010
  • Wind River

    (A chilling murder mystery set in the icy backwoods of a N...)

    2017
  • Tag

    (A small group of former classmates organize an elaborate,...)

    2018
  • Captain America: Civil War

    (When an incident involving the Avengers results in collat...)

    2016
  • Avengers: Endgame

    (The fourth installment in the Avengers saga is the culmin...)

    2019
  • Arctic Dogs

    ("Arctic Dogs" tells the story of Swifty the Arctic fox (J...)

    2019
  • Arrival

    (When mysterious spacecraft land across the globe, expert ...)

    2016
  • North Country

    (When Josey Aimes returns to her hometown in Northern Minn...)

    2005
  • Ingenious

    (Lifelong friends, Matt and Sam, are searching for the one...)

    2009
  • A Little Trip to Heaven

    (A husband and wife tangle with an investigator over her d...)

    2005
  • Mission: Impossible IV - Ghost Protocol

    (Agent Ethan Hunt and his elite team go underground after ...)

    2011
  • The Avengers

    (Marvel makes cinematic history as it unites the superhero...)

    2011
  • Age of Ultron

    (Marvel Studios unleashes the epic follow-up to Marvel's T...)

    2015
  • National Lampoon's Senior Trip

    (A group of unruly Ohio teenagers win a trip to Washington...)

    1995
  • The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things

    (The cult classic story of "JT LeRoy" that started it all....)

    2004
  • The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford

    (Everyone in 1880s America knows Jesse James. He's the nat...)

    2007
  • S.W.A.T.

    (Superstars Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell team up wi...)

    2003

• music

  • Main Attraction 2019

• TV series

  • The Unusuals

    (Detective Casey Schrager (Amber Tamblyn) has just been tr...)

    2009

Religion

Jeremy Renner studied religion as an academic subject but appears to be non-religious.

Politics

Renner joined a group of young actors in a meeting where Obama urged them to become involved in his 2012 reelection campaign and encouraged them to engage young people in voting.

Views

Over the years, Jeremy Renner has become involved with several humanitarian campaigns and causes. These include TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), UNMAS (United Nations Mine Action Service), and Got Your 6, which aims to assist servicemen and women as they readjust to civilian life. Jeremy also supports the BVLGARI Save the Children campaign, with its goal of saving the lives of 50,000 infants and women in impoverished countries around the world. Further, Jeremy Renner took part in the "Demand a Plan" PSA to help eliminate gun violence in the United States and has participated in the "Stand up to Cancer" telethon. He is also a supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Feeding America, and WildAid.

Renner also served as a United Nations Goodwill Peace Ambassador to raise awareness for mine-clearing efforts in Afghanistan.

Quotations: "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 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."

"Before Avengers, 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."

"I like showing up on sets. I feel blessed to be able to play make-believe for a living. It's my job."

"You'll never see this face doing a romantic comedy, it's just not gonna happen."

"The idea of being famous really isn't that interesting to me, but you know, you kind of need it sometimes to procure work. I just don't want people chasing me with cameras. I'm pretty private about my life. And I'd like to keep it that way."

"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."

Personality

Renner's strengths as an actor derive not only from his expressive eyes but also from his ability to thoroughly embody the characters he portrays. His visceral depiction of these individuals captivates audiences and empowers him to steal scenes in many of his films, even when playing a minor role. Renner gravitates toward flawed, complicated, three-dimensional characters that allow him to explore new territory within himself.

Renner maintains a sense of humility and gratitude, even in the wake of his recent successes and recognition. He keeps himself grounded by renovating and restoring old and rundown iconic Hollywood homes, an enterprise he began back in his early days in Los Angeles. He values loyalty and a sense of both age and history and enjoys the opportunity to help conserve these qualities in a town that favors the young and the new.

Interests

• Muay Thai, arnis

• Politicians

  Joe Biden

• Writers

  George R. R. Martin

• Artists

  John Toll

• Sport & Clubs

  football, San Francisco 49ers

• Athletes

  Colin Kaepernick

• Music & Bands

  Muse, Radiohead, Queen

Connections

Renner got married to Canadian model Sonni Pacheco in January 2014. However, in December that year, Pacheco filed for divorce from the actor, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple has a daughter named Ava Berlin, whose custody they share.

Father:

Lee Renner

Mother:

Valerie Cearley (Tague) Renner

Renner often invites his mother to different ceremonies, including Oscar and Golden Globe.

ex-spouse:

Sonni Pacheco

Daughter:

Ava Berlin Renner

colleague:

Cole Sprouse

colleague:

Winona Ryder

colleague:

Charlize Theron

colleague:

Woody Harrelson

colleague:

Brad Pitt

colleague:

Casey Affleck

colleague:

Sofía Vergara

colleague:

Jon Hamm

colleague:

Chris Hemsworth

colleague:

Edward Norton

colleague:

Joaquin Phoenix

colleague:

Alec Baldwin

colleague:

Sebastian Stan

colleague:

Chadwick Boseman

colleague:

Emily VanCamp

colleague:

Tom Holland

colleague:

Karen Gillan

colleague:

Benedict Cumberbatch

colleague:

Angela Bassett

colleague:

James Franco

References

• Jeremy Renner