Intimidating Elizabeth Olsen, teasing Tom Hiddleston, and talking serious smack
about Black Widow — Jeremy Renner has some unusual relationships with his MCU co-stars!
Everyone in the Marvel cast plays a superhero, but Chris Hemsworth's character Thor is just...
built different. When some of the MCU stars got together for the first time,
Jeremy Renner remembers his fellow cast members being surprised by just how physically imposing
Hemsworth was. Renner recalled on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast that
everyone was wearing their costumes, and it looked like Halloween. He explained,
Furthermore, everyone was taken aback by Hemsworth's charisma. Renner added,
Robert Downey Jr. had a suggestion for the rest of the cast, saying,
"Doth mother know you weareth her drapes."
Since that first meeting, it seems that Renner and Hemsworth have been on great
terms. The two joke around with one another online, hinting at a great relationship behind
the scenes. Renner shared an Instagram video in 2019 of him jokingly defacing
Hemsworth's face on an Avengers poster, and he captioned it, quote, "love you brother."
When the Avengers first assembled in 2012's "The Avengers," Jeremy Renner's
Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow were the only two members of the
team who hadn't gotten a solo movie yet. That meant they shared a certain bond.
"In a way, it felt like we were doing it together. You know, we were the new kids on set."
She praised her co-star's acting ability, too.
"Jeremy is one of the finest actors around. He's so brilliant."
When Johansson got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012,
Renner was on-hand to deliver a speech, congratulating — and gently teasing — her.
"Just like Budapest all over again."
"You and I remember Budapest very differently."
Jeremy Renner's character Hawkeye and Chris Pratt's Starlord haven't shared all that much
screen time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, they did team up in a Marvel podcast
called "Wastelanders," which saw the duo join a super-team that also includes Wolverine and
Doctor Doom. Their lack of crossover time hasn't stopped Renner from growing close with Pratt,
it seems. Renner has admitted that their families are close. Back in 2017, he told
ET that his daughter and Pratt's son were classmates. He added,
Renner's friendship with Pratt has extended to their online presences, too. In 2020,
a number of Marvel stars came to the "Guardians of the Galaxy" star's defense when there was
internet backlash against Pratt for his supposed affiliation with an anti-LGBTQ+ church. Though he
didn't release a statement on his own, Vanity Fair reported that Renner liked an Instagram
post from Robert Downey Jr. defending their co-star, in which the "Iron Man" actor wrote,
Leading up to "Avengers: Endgame," the MCU cast was desperate to avoid accidentally spoiling
anything about the heavily-anticipated film. In order to misdirect reporters and sidestep
questions about the Marvel teamup epic, Jeremy Renner and Paul Rudd decided to joke about
being in a different movie altogether, which they called "The 50 Year Old Virgins." Rudd, of course,
starred in "The Forty Year Old Virgin" with Steve Carrell. Renner shared a mock poster on Instagram
to wish his co-star a happy birthday, hashtagging it #presstourcontinues. He also wore a shirt with
Rudd's face on it to an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," where he explained their inside
joke. He said they made up stories to tell about what it was like to film the fake movie together.
"We played ping-pong a lot. We're ping-pong champions."
Rudd and Renner joked around in person, too,
embracing one another at a promotional appearance just like they had on the mock
poster. The good-natured ribbing doesn't just go one direction, either. After Rudd
returned the favor by wearing a shirt with Renner's face on it to a comic convention,
Renner posted a pic of his co-star on Instagram, calling him a, quote, "fashion icon."
Elizabeth Olsen’s and Jeremy Renner’s first MCU film together was "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Olsen
and Renner have worked together on numerous MCU films since. In 2017, they led the cast of "Wind
River," a film by Taylor Sheridan, creator and showrunner of "Yellowstone." Renner told
ET about what it was like to work with his MCU co-star in a different environment. He said,
It turns out that Olsen likes working with Renner just as much as he enjoys working with
her. The same year "Wind River" came out, she told Vulture that it wasn't always that way,
and that her first day on an "Avengers" set was actually stressful. She explained,
"The city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow."
However, she asked him for advice, and he told her to ground her character in
Wanda's love of her family. Their relationship blossomed from there,
and Olsen now has nothing but glowing things to say.
Although Jeremy Renner played Hawkeye across six films in ten years, he never
got his own solo movie. Instead, in 2021, he starred in a television show on Disney+,
so that Hawkeye could pass the torch to a new generation. The show saw "True Grit"
star Hailee Steinfeld's character Kate Bishop pick up the "Hawkeye" mantle, and it turns out
their characters' relationship was reflected in their behind-the-scenes friendship, too.
Renner told Entertainment Weekly he felt like the younger actor's mentor on set,
given the fact that he'd been part of the Marvel machine for so long. Furthermore, it turns out
Renner respects his co-star for more than just her Oscar-nominated acting ability. He said,
Steinfeld seems to agree that having Renner
on her side was important to her success on the show. She told NME,
As with many of his co-stars, Jeremy Renner seems to have quite the jokey relationship with "Captain
America" star Chris Evans behind the scenes. In fact, their easygoing camaraderie got them
in trouble during the press tour for "Avengers: Age of Ultron." While talking with Digital Spy,
Renner and Evans asked about the fact that Black Widow seemed to be in a relationship with the
Hulk in the film, yet also had chemistry with both their characters in the past.
"She's a slut."
[hard laughter] "I was going to say something along those lines. Complete whore."
Both actors later apologized after their jokes angered fans. Even though their time in the MCU
has come to an end, Renner and Evans still seem to be on great terms. In 2022, when Evans was
named People's Sexiest Man Alive, Renner gave him a shoutout on his Instagram Story, writing,
Jeremy Renner and Marvel co-star Samuel L. Jackson first worked together all the way back in 2003,
when they starred together in action flick "S.W.A.T." As in the MCU, where Jackson plays
"Avengers" leader Nick Fury, Renner was a member of Jackson's elite team in the thriller. When they
both joined the cast of "The Avengers," Jackson told the Daily News that he was glad to have a
chance to work with Renner once more. While "S.W.A.T." failed to launch Renner's career,
he told the outlet that he was actually grateful success found him after "Avengers”. He said,
Renner shouted Jackson out on Twitter in 2015,
when the cast evidently missed the veteran actor's presence on set. He wrote,
Though the cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown immensely over the years,
Jeremy Renner is fiercely protective of the cast of the original "Avengers"
film. He frequently captions his posts #A6, shouting out the original members
of the superhero team who have been there with him since the beginning.
The team decided to show each other how much they meant to one another through some ink.
"The original six got a tattoo cause we've all
been together over the last decade and spent a lot of time together."
He further explained that the design of the tattoo — an interlocked A and 6 — also
contained symbols referencing each main character. However,
he admitted that not all of them got the tattoo after all.
"Ruffalo's the only one that kind of chickened out at the last minute."
Renner said that he nearly got Ruffalo kicked out of the group, joking in a group chat that
Eric Bana, the star of Ang Lee's "Hulk" film, should get tatted instead. However,
it seems like there are no hard feelings over the tat flap. They frequently support
each other on social media, for example. When "Hawkeye" premiered on Disney+, Ruffalo tweeted,
In 2022, the Hulk also wished his co-star a happy birthday online.
Hawkeye and Loki aren't friends, to say the least, but by all accounts,
it seems that Jeremy Renner and the villainous Tom Hiddleston get along
great behind the scenes. At least, that was the impression at the D23 Disney Expo
convention in 2011. While Hiddleston was on the red carpet giving an interview,
Renner walked behind his co-star, who jumped in surprise as Renner evidently went out of his way
to bump into him. Hiddleston and Renner then joked back and forth about how they
mess around and misbehave on set and that's why their characters are kept so separate.
Trying to keep a straight face, Renner also prompted Hiddleston to talk about
how he feels about Loki's costume, perhaps insinuating that the star may have done some
complaining behind the scenes. Just like Jeremy Renner — trying to get other people in trouble.
While Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is the man who got the Avengers to assemble,
it seems that much of the "Avengers" cast looked up to Robert Downey Jr. as one of
the more veteran actors in the cast. At least, that was definitely the case for Jeremy Renner,
who told ET that he leaned on RDJ, especially in the beginning. He said,
It seems Downey leaned on Renner, too. While on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in 2014,
he shared that he was having trouble convincing his son to be careful while playing outside.
So he called up his co-star since his son loves Hawkeye, who told RDJ's son,