Jeremy Renner Says He Turned Down Playing Hellboy in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy
"I just felt if I wasn't connected to the material—even though it was a great director and a great job—I don't know how I'm going to do anything exceptional."
By Evan Romano
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The upcoming Hawkeye series on Disney+ serves as an interesting time-marker. It marks a decade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for star Jeremy Renner, who first debuted his take on the character in an uncredited appearance in 2011's Thor and has since played him in four more feature films (and provided his voice in a couple episodes of What If...?).
Hawkeye, though, does mark Renner's first time in the leading role, coming just about half a year after his fellow longtime Marvel star Scarlett Johansson finally got her own starring vehicle with the Black Widow film. But, as it turns out, Renner had a chance way earlier to lead a superhero franchise—in Gulliermo del Toro's 2004 Hellboy movie—but he turned it down.
"I said no to more money than I'll probably ever make," Renner, who also stars in the new Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown, said in a new Men's Health cover story. "I was focused on what I wanted to do and how. I just felt if I wasn't connected to the material—even though it was a great director and a great job—I don't know how I'm going to do anything exceptional."
As the story explains, this came around the time when Renner's career was starting to kick into high gear. He had begun flipping houses a few months prior, a job that made him a decent bit of money and allowed him to be a bit more choosey with the roles he was taking, and gave him some added confidence when entering auditions. "I walked in with brass balls," he said. "It doesn't mean I was cocky or aggressive. It means I didn't have that desperation. I didn't have so much...need for it."
Years before Renner played Clint Barton/Hawkeye, he says he was offered the role of Hellboy.
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This was right around the time when the now 50-year-old star was appearing in movies like the indie biopic Dahmer, the action/thriller S.W.A.T., the dramas North Country and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and the horror sequel 28 Weeks Later.
The role of Hellboy eventually went to Ron Perlman, an actor 21 years Renner's senior. The movie was a hit, grossing $99 million worldwide against its $66 million budget. It also got a sequel a few years later, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which was also a box office hit. A franchise reboot was attempted in 2019 with David Harbour in the title role, but we don't have to talk about that one.
Renner probably didn't ever guess he would play another superhero role—and for a decade and counting at that—when he said no to Hellboy. It was a risky gambit; the movie's director, Guillermo del Toro, was already one of the most respected artists in the industry, and has since won two Oscars (both forThe Shape of Water). But Renner has his code, and he seems determined to live by it. And it's working out right now.
Watch Hellboy on Amazon Prime Video
Watch Marvel Movies and Shows on Disney+
Evan Romano Evan is an associate editor for Men's Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE.
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