Jeremy Renner has a prolific Hollywood career, from playing popular roles like Hawkeye in the MCU to making his presence known outside the superhero genre with his work in hit films and shows like Mission: Impossible and Mayor of Kingstown, respectively.
However, despite having worked with industry giants like Tom Cruise and Taylor Sheridan, he has never praised them as emphatically as he did Kathryn Bigelow, the director of his 2008 film The Hurt Locker, whom he commended for her toughness and resilience on set.
Jeremy Renner’s high praise for The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow
Before donning the bow and arrow in his popular role as Hawkeye in the MCU, Jeremy Renner earned a major career milestone with his 2008 film, The Hurt Locker.
Playing the role of Sergeant William James, a skilled bomb disposal expert, in the war thriller, Renner delivered a career-defining performance that earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Throughout the film’s production, he developed a deep admiration for its director, Kathryn Bigelow. When asked about his working experience with the Oscar-winning filmmaker, he praised her extraordinary talent and capability as a director.
She’s a painter — She just sat back and kind of painted. She sat her cameras where she needed to do it, let us do our job, and she did hers… She really wanted to play it as real as possible.
When asked if he was surprised by the intensity of work due to her being a female director, he dismissed gender as a factor, further emphasizing her toughness and resilience as a filmmaker.
“This girl was tougher than anybody on set,” he told Cinemablend in an interview. “She’s this supermodel-looking woman. She’s spright,” he continued, commending Bigelow’s endurance and strength as a filmmaker.
Jeremy Renner on filming The Hurt Locker in 125-degree heat in the Jordan desert
The Hurt Locker was filmed in the scorching Jordanian desert, adding an extra layer of challenge to Jeremy Renner’s already demanding role. While preparing for the role was physically challenging, Renner revealed that the mental toll was just as intense.
“A lot more than the physical, it’s the mental aspect,” he said in his interview with Cinemablend, adding, “It was a very complex character to play. I was trying to get a grasp on how volatile he was.”
He also shared how harsh filming conditions, with temperatures soaring to 125 degrees, caused chaos on set, as he recalled,
Everyone’s passing out, everyone’s sick. There was trauma happening. Someone’s face blew up from the fireworks that we had. Trauma and drama was happening off-camera every day, so we had to cling together, especially Anthony, Brian, and I.
“Obviously the heat sucks. It’s unbearable. The Red Sea, the Dead Sea, all within hours of each other,” Renner continued. The actor also praised the filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow for her resilience in the intense environment.
“How she dealt with that day in and day out, I have no idea because I barely did,” he said, commending the Oscar-winning filmmaker for her dedication to one of the most influential war films of all time.
The Hurt Locker is available to watch on Prime Video.
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