It’s hard to imagine now, given his incredible success in the ‘Avengers’ franchise and as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Jeremy Renner wasn’t always the big name that he is today. In fact, a decade ago, before he donned the Hawkeye costume, the actor was part of a few failed attempts to launch himself into a franchise. And according to Renner, one of those films could have been “Hellboy.”
Way back in 2004, Guillermo del Toro released “Hellboy” and quickly earned himself some major credibility for fans of genre films, as he was coming off a successful gig on “Blade II.” And while the role of Hellboy was always Ron Perlman, Jeremy Renner was actually approached for the role of Agent Myers (who ended up being played by Rupert Evans).
READ MORE: David Harbour Says ‘Hellboy 2’ Isn’t Likely: “I Don’t Think It Was Very Well Received”
But as he discussed in a new interview on actor Justin Long’s podcast (via EW), Renner just didn’t connect with the script for the superhero film.
“I was just reading the script and [thinking] like, ‘I don’t get this…’ I just couldn’t connect to it,” said Renner. “I said, ‘I can’t find a way in [to this character], I don’t know what I’d be doing,’ so I had to say no.”
Now, given the fact that del Toro’s “Hellboy” became successful and spawned a sequel, the Hawkeye actor still has no regrets about turning down the role.
“There’s zero regrets, zero,” he said. “Most of the time it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m glad I didn’t do it,’ and it made sense to me. Not just ‘Hellboy’ or whatever it was, and I’m not saying that it’s a good or bad movie, it’s not about that… I just wouldn’t have fit there.”
What’s interesting about this is the fact that back in 2004, Renner was definitely not even close to the A-list. His two biggest roles before “Hellboy” would have been the lead in “Dahmer” and a supporting role in “S.W.A.T.” (remember that movie?). This was years before he would have earned acclaim for his role in “The Hurt Locker” and almost a decade before Hawkeye. So, given that, it’s actually pretty surprising that he turned down “Hellboy” when it could have been a film that kick-started his career even sooner.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and it would appear that all parties prospered regardless. But still, it’s interesting to think about what could have been if Jeremy Renner hooked up with Guillermo del Toro for “Hellboy” all those years ago.