It’s always nice to see a star who truly appreciates their success, which is why I’m bringing you Jeremy Renner’s reaction to his nomination for Best Actor in THE HURT LOCKER. It’s the guys breakout role to be sure, and he most definitely knows that he’s lucky to be in this spot. Here’s what he had to say when talking to Empire just a little while ago.
“I never knew that I could feel so exhilarated as I did when I was six years old during Christmas, or going to Disneyland for the first time,” says the 37 year-old. “I never imagined this feeling coming back. It’s an amazing high. It really is.”
When asked if he expected this, as THE HURT LOCKER has been buzzing with awards talk for some time, his response was forceful.
“Hell, no!” he admits. “I had zero expectations. What got us through is that we all knew that we had a great script and we had amazing roles. I knew for me, specifically, I had the role of a lifetime. We had to keep fighting through every obstacle and that got us through those moments with flies in your mouth. And when you’re working with Anthony Mackie [who plays James’ no. 2, Sanborn] and Brian Geraghty [as Eldridge, another member of James’ team], it doesn’t get any better than that.”
“I think the first one they called out for us was Best Actor,” he laughs. “I climbed all over Anthony and jumped in his arms! He’s my brother for life. It was awesome. We are truly blessed.”
Anyways, as I said, it’s nice to see someone legitimately thankful and surprised for something like this. He’s definitely my pick for the statue, as Freeman as Mandela seems too easy, and George Clooney was essentially playing himself in UP IN THE AIR if you ask me. I still have to see CRAZY HEART and A SINGLE MAN.
What about you guys? Think he deserves it?