Ebert: Modesto actor on Oscar 'short list' for 'The Hurt Locker'

When it's 125 degrees in the blazing Jordanian desert with no shade in sight and a 100-pound suit on your back, acting is possibly the last thing on your mind.

Still, it was in those conditions that Modesto native Jeremy Renner, cast and crew filmed the critically acclaimed new Iraq War drama, "The Hurt Locker."

The movie follows an explosive ordnance disposal squad, the soldiers who risk life and limb detonating bombs in combat zones.

"When you see the film, you understand our journey," said the 38-year-old Beyer High School graduate. "Half the time, we didn't know if the people walking around were in the movie or not. Kids would run down and start throwing rocks on me when I had the suit on. I'd be like, 'I guess this is part of the movie.' It felt as real as I ever wanted it to feel."

Renner plays lead bomb technician Staff Sgt. William James, a man who walks up to live bombs for a living.

Helmed by veteran action director Kathryn Bigelow ("Point Break," "Strange Days," "K-19: The Widowmaker"), the drama was shot over three months in Jordan two summers ago.

It premièred last year on the festival circuit and since has been accumulating critical acclaim and even Academy Award buzz.

Roger Ebert said Renner "immediately goes on the short list for an Oscar nomination." The role already has garnered him his second Independent Spirit Award nomination -- the first being for his breakout role as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 2002's "Dahmer."

Some of the actor's previous roles include "S.W.A.T" with Colin Farrell, "North Country" with Charlize Theron, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" with Brad Pitt and the zombie thriller sequel "28 Weeks Later."

Earlier this year, Renner also was one of the stars of the short-lived ABC midseason quirky cop drama, "The Unusuals," alongside Amber Tamblyn.

Renner, whose parents both live in Modesto, will return to attend "The Hurt Locker" hometown première at Brenden Theatres on Friday.

The actor and his co-star Brian Geraghty will sign autographs, attend a screening and do a post-film Q&A with fans.

The Bee spoke with Renner from his Los Angeles home about his film's reception, his role and his impending homecoming.

Q: Congratulations, the film is getting massive critical love. Did you expect it to be received so well?

A: Uh, no. I don't think anybody could ever expect that. It's been a shocker in a lot of ways. You never know how people will respond to something. It's been wonderful; it's sure better than a stick in the eye.

Q: Iraq War films have had a hard time both at the box office and with critics. What about this project makes it different?

A: It's not an Iraq War film; that's the backdrop. It's about the world of EOD, which no one knows about. It's also the characters, these people who volunteer for this job.

So people are just curious about it; they are curious because they don't know about it and it's a relevant issue happening now. We've been in this war for so many years and we don't know what the warfare is.

Q: What attracted you to the role and script?

A: It was a complicated role. Everybody asks me, what makes that guy do his job? That to me was someplace I could go to understand somebody. Who does that kind of job? That made me really curious. It's one of the best written antiheroes I've read in 10 years. I was fortunate enough to play him.

Q: How did you get into the mind-set of a guy whose job it is to not get blown up?