Video:The Hurt Locker - Jeremy Renner Interview
with Rebecca Murray'The Hurt Locker' earned Best Director and Best Picture awards at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and at the BAFTA/LA Awards Season Tea Party the film's star, Jeremy Renner, talked about working on this powerful drama.See Transcript
Transcript:The Hurt Locker - Jeremy Renner Interview
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 16th Annual BAFTA/LA Awards Season Tea Party held Saturday, January 16, 2010 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
Congratulations on the wins last night.Jeremy Renner: "Thank you."
That was impressive.
Jeremy Renner: "Wasn't that awesome?"
And Kathryn [Bigelow] did such an amazing job directing this. What was she like and how did she help you?
Jeremy Renner: "Well, she cast me in this damn thing and fought for me when I feel like she could have had anybody, because the role was tremendous. I think anybody would die to to it. And so she was my champion, and she's a warrior. And then in doing the movie shifted my life as a man and exposed me to a lot of things I didn't know. She's been a huge part, a big milestone in my life that I'll never, ever forget."
Your life as a person or as an actor?
Jeremy Renner: "My life as a person and as an actor, but more as a man I think because [it's] more affecting. You know, this is all...it's wonderful and all but the things that affected me personally obviously stick with me a little bit longer."
How tough was it at the end of each night to go home from this? Because he was such an intense character and it was such an intense subject matter.
Jeremy Renner: "Well, the shooting conditions were really hard, so it was actually nice to go home and shower and get all the sand out of the places that, you know, the sun don't shine. I really can't put it into words. It's bringing back, actually, terrible memories."
What's the reaction been like from guys in the military after they see this film?
Jeremy Renner: "That's been, even more than the fun parts of being recognized by Sean Penn, Robert Downey, all these awesome actors, being recognized by the real deal has been my true touchstone in all of this. This is all fantastic, I mean all the attention has been amazing, but representing our military - especially EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] - I run into families who lost their sons or daughters to IEDs and the guys who go back for another tour that are fighting for our freedom, like this is the real deal. These are people's real lives we're talking about, and our warfare in this conflict that we've been in for so long that people are not aware of. So this becomes a touchstone for me of the real truth and the real things that, again, will be imprinted in me much more than all the lovely attention that the film's getting. So it's a really wonderful thing. It feels good to kind of accept the validation for it, you know what I mean?"
Did you understand why he would go back? Is that a part of the character that you really understood?
Jeremy Renner: "Yeah, absolutely. You could take what you want from it, but it's a bittersweet thing I feel like. But when you're life is your job and you feel like you're built for only one thing on the planet, and you're good at it, then you do, right?"
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