It’s probably safe to say that Hawkeye is really no one’s favorite Avenger. No slight to Jeremy Renner, but it’s hard to make a glorified archer stand out alongside the likes of Iron Man, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Hulk….you get the idea. Nevertheless, Clint Barton is a character with a backstory, and Renner was eager to explore these aspects in Joss Whedon‘s “The Avengers.” However, given that his character was pretty much a zombie for most of that movie, he didn’t really get the chance. And as the actor recently shared, that experience wasn’t so fun.
Dropping by the London Film And Comic-Con, Renner got real about his unhappy time making the movie —so much so that he was nearly baiting Marvel and Whedon to toss him out of the film.
“I was just getting to know who Hawkeye was, and then zap, I go round like a zombie, I’m like Loki’s minion. And I’m still not even sure who Hawkeye was at that point. So I’m a little frustrated, because I was so excited to figure out who Hawkeye was. I just had a heart attack in every scene. I’d just be walking with… Scarlett Johansson, and just like be ugh [clutching my chest]. And they said, ‘What are you doing man?’ I’m giving you an option if you just want to kick me out of this movie. Just you know, at any given moment, if you wanna kill me off, daddy’s gonna be having a heart attack,” Renner said.
Since he was clearly given much more to do in “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” and “Captain America: Civil War,” Renner has chilled out a bit, saying that he “can’t wait to explore him more.” But it’s perhaps understandable how one might be irritated to sign up to play a superhero only to have pretty much everything interesting about the role taken away. Though there is something to be said about being professional.
At any rate, this isn’t the first time Renner has been honest about his initial misgivings about playing Hawkeye, but it all seems to have worked out, so water under the bridge. [Comic Book Movie]