14 DAY TRIAL // Google Jeremy Renner and chances are the word “gay” will find its way among the first results. That’s one of the rumors he hasn’t been able to shake off since he became a fixture with Hollywood A-listers with his role in “The Hurt Locker.”
Truth be told, he doesn’t really mind it because he doesn’t care what people say or think about him, he admits in a new interview with Playboy magazine. Even if he was gay, how would that be a negative thing, he asks.
“I’m not going to try to prove what I am or am not”
Playboy brings up an incident in which Renner got into a club brawl, which he later explained by saying the other guy was drunk and had tried to strangle him with his own scarf, all the while telling him that he was “gay” for wearing one.
Renner’s sister was also present and got roughed up in the ensuing altercation, as the drunk dude pushed her away. That was what it took to get Jeremy to spring into action.
As for the gay allegation, the actor says that he never felt any inclination to address it, because he shouldn’t even be put in a position to “prove” if he’s one thing or another. However, he adds amused, the first time he saw the gay rumor pop online, he knew he had made it: he was now “a giant movie star.”
“I don’t care, ultimately, if that’s what people want to think, read and care about. [Expletive]ing say whatever the hell you want about me,” he continues. “Look at where we’re at socially - leaps and bounds ahead of where we started. That’s an amazing thing. To suggest that it’s negative, that being gay is a terrible thing, a perversion or whatever - I just don’t get it. Don’t you wish we were in a world where we’re not shaming, judging and boxing people in?”
And with that, he addressed the gay rumor without answering the gay question. He did warn the interviewer that he’s not into talking about his personal life too much, unless it involves gushing about his 2-year-old daughter Ava with his soon-to-be-ex-wife Sonni Pacheco.
Jeremy Renner isn’t exactly happy with the latest “MI” movie
Next month, Jeremy Renner returns to the big screen opposite Tom Cruise in the highly anticipated “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.” In fact, he’s only talking to Playboy because he’s promoting it, but from what he’s saying, he’s not exactly happy with the film.
Sure, he’s grateful for the experience and he has no regret about taking the part, but one gets the feeling, from what he’s saying, that it could have been better.
Asked about reports of on-set fights, Renner admits that there was some friction during the production. Most of it was due to the irregular shooting hours and the apparent inability to estimate how long a working day would be.
At the time, Renner was also shooting “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” so that means he was away from his daughter for long stretches - considerably longer than he was led to believe.
But there was also this: “This Mission was like all the Missions - great action set pieces with an idea of a story somewhere in there. There have been four successful versions before this one, so why would I fight the process? I just went and gave to the best of my ability in the scenario I was in. Now, was it the best scenario for me? The best at what I’m good at? [Hell], no. Not having any information about what the heck is going on doesn’t empower any artists to be at the best of their ability.”
He does his best afterwards to explain that he was happy to be working with Cruise and the entire team again, but doesn’t it sound like he’s complaining about not being provided with the best conditions that would have allowed him to be his best?
Doesn’t it sound like he’s saying this “Mission” film is all action and no story, like it’s another generic action flick with nothing to make it stand out from the crowd?