Chris Hemsworth may just be one of the few stars to intimidate big names like Robert Downey Jr. Now, Hawkeye star Jeremy Renner recalls a hilarious story of when he and Downey Jr. first met the God of Thunder on the set of The Avengers.
As Hawkeye fans know, Renner's Clint Barton is one of the six original Avengers team, which also includes Iron Man (Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Recently, Renner shared a hilarious story involving Downey Jr. wanting to break Hemsworth's knee when first meeting him on set.
Speaking on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, Renner said that he didn't know Hemsworth at all when shooting first began on The Avengers. When host Shepard noted that they heard Hemsworth is a great guy, Renner agreed but recounted that they didn't know that the time. "On the first day, we’re all waiting around in our costumes. It looks like it’s Halloween. We’re excited but equally feeling ridiculous. I feel like we all knew each other somehow, someway, except for this Hemsworth guy, because he comes from Australia," Renner recalled. "And he’s the tallest, the most good-looking Downey was like, ‘We gotta break his knee. We gotta take him out. This guy’s too good-looking. He’s too tall, he’s too charming, fuck this guy."
It's easy to feel intimidated when being close to someone like Hemsworth. After first landing the role of Thor back in 2011, Hemsworth would go on to star in four solo movies, with Thor: Love and Thunder set to release in summer 2022, and five other MCU Avengers/crossover films that cemented him as one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars. On top of his Marvel success, he has starred in other acclaimed projects such as The Cabin in the Woods, Rush, Bad Times at the El Royale, and Extraction.
Renner, who is one of the last three original Avengers still appearing in MCU films, finally got his time to shine in his own Marvel Studios project titled Hawkeye for Disney Plus. The series follows Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye post-blip in New York City during the Holidays, as he is forced to team up with the young archer Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to stop enemies from his past when he was Ronin in Avengers: Endgame. The series was met with much praise from critics, as it currently has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While a second season of Hawkeye has not been announced, Renner could very likely don the Hawkeye suit and appear in one of the upcoming feature films. On top of that, rumors have been brewing that his character and Steinfeld's Bishop may appear in the spin-off series Echo, which will focus on the character of Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox). Other than his Marvel work, Renner got to flex his acting chops in the Mayor of Kingstown series, as he reunites with director Taylor Sheridan after collaborating on Wind River.
Fans can stream Hawkeye and other Marvel Cinematic Universe content on Disney Plus.
Source: Armchair Expert podcast