Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner sits in the pews in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025), waiting to be suspected. It is a frustrating use of an actor whose strength is making a quiet man seem troubled without making him explain himself. As Dr. Nat Sharp, he is one of several performers whom Rian Johnson gathers together and then leaves short of a character. We recommend the mystery, but not as an introduction to what Renner can do.

The early parts gave that unease more work. Dahmer (2002) established his capacity for unsettling character work, before The Hurt Locker (2008) and The Town (2010) brought the breakthrough. The latter’s Jem Coughlin gives his volatility a useful home in a heist drama. From 2011, the franchise work became a regular part of the job, including The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Clint Barton, or Hawkeye. Those roles suit the physical commitment and sparse dialogue, though they do not always leave much room for the inner conflict.

In Avengers: Endgame (2019), his Hawkeye belongs to an ensemble that is given time to matter, sometimes more time than it needs. The film is affectionate and often moving, although its length and routine-looking spectacle keep our recommendation to viewers already invested. There is nothing wrong with an actor serving a company this large, and Renner’s unshowy manner makes sense within one. The caveat is that viewers looking chiefly for him have a great deal of other business to sit through.

Johnson’s mystery makes the limitation harder to ignore. Editor Bob Ducsay cuts patiently, which suits the first hour better than the second. We grew restless during interviews that told us things we had already gathered, while Renner and several others sat waiting in the pews. His economy can look merely dull when a part gives us too little reason to look more closely. Start with The Hurt Locker if the appeal of the franchise regular has passed you by.