Modesto son Jeremy Renner takes role in ABC's 'The Unusuals'

By Marijke Rowland
mrowland@modbee.com

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For Jeremy Renner, playing good cop/bad cop is just another day at the office.

The Modesto native and Beyer High graduate is one of the stars of the new ABC cop drama "The Unusuals," which follows a squad of New York City homicide detectives.

But as the name might suggest, the hourlong series isn't your average crime procedural. Instead, it's a mix of intense drama and quirky humor.

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In the pilot episode, airing at 10 p.m. Wednesday, the detectives investigate both a cop killer and cat killer.

Like I was saying, different.

Renner stars as Detective Jason Walsh, a veteran on the force who is both tough and mysterious. Walsh is partnered with rookie Detective Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn from TV's "Joan of Arcadia" and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" movies) after his partner is killed.

The show also stars "Lost" alum Harold Perrineau and veteran actors Adam Goldberg, Terry Kinney and Kai Lennox.

The series is Renner's first major TV role as a series regular. But the 38-year-old has a long and critically acclaimed track record in film, particularly independent film.

He has earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations -- first for his breakout role as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 2002's "Dahmer" and earlier this year for his heroic role in Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker."

The latter, a film about a military explosive disposal team in Iraq, is set to open in New York and Los Angeles in June and nationally in July. Renner plays Staff Sgt. William James, the new leader of the squad. Veteran action director Kathryn Bigelow ("Point Break," "Strange Days," "K-19: The Widowmaker") helmed the project.

In the past, Renner has also starred alongside Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson in the big-budget action thriller "S.W.A.T." and Oscar-nominated actress Charlize Theron in "North Country."

Renner just finished filming the 10-episode first season of "The Unusuals" in New York this week. He spoke with The Bee from New York.

Q: This is your first regular TV show. Why TV and why this show?

A: I've actually never been interested too much in television. But I really liked the cast a lot. Most of them were film actors anyway. I thought the character was complex for TV. So I did television because I wanted to try something different.

I've been really fortunate to work in film, but unfortunately, I've never been too close to home. So I kind of wanted to park it and work. This show is filmed in New York, so I kind of defeated the purpose there. But the cast is so fun and the writing is terrific.

I had finished another pilot, called "The Oaks," for Fox that didn't end up going. So I heard who was already attached when I first read the script (for "The Unusuals"). They came back around a month later and made an official offer, so I was one of the last ones cast.

Q: What attracted you to the role? He seems kind of mysterious.

A: Mystery you can't really play as an actor. But there are a lot of layers and complexities to the character; nothing is what it seems.

Q: I've watched the pilot, and it's a mix of kind of gallows humor and interpersonal drama. That requires good chemistry with the cast; how it it working Amber and the rest?

A: It's been great. I mostly work with Amber and Kai Lennox, who plays Detective Eddie Alvarez. We're all paired off. It's all been really great. Each person brings out different qualities to the character they play. It's fun working with someone different. The material allows us to grow and reveal as it goes along.