‘THERE’S GOT TO BE OTHER LIFE FORMS OUT THERE’
Co-star of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi puzzler Arrival has always been among those who want to believe
Arrival actor Jeremy Renner found himself trying to figure out how to get into director Denis Villeneuve’s world, just as he and co-star Amy Adams seek to make sense of visiting space aliens in the movie.
“He’s a monster, man!” Renner says of Villeneuve, during an interview at TIFF 2016 in a break between screenings.
“This guy is just so good in whatever genre and whatever kind of storytelling he works in. I’m really such a fan of his, both as a human and as an artist.”
Renner, 45, twice nominated for Oscars ( The Hurt Locker, The Town) had tried to be part of Prisoners, the 2013 kidnap thriller that helped establish the Quebec filmmaker as a major new Hollywood player.
But various other commitments, not the least of them the rigours of his continuing Hawkeye hero character in The Avengers and other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, meant Renner had to wait until now to work with Villeneuve in what the actor calls “almost a religious experience.”
He makes up for lost time in a film that he says “wrecked me.”
How does a tough guy like you, a veteran of war movies and superhero movies, get “wrecked” by a sci-fi film?
A lot of it has to do with spoiler kind of stuff . . . but let’s just say it made me think about things that unite us and what divides us. Even the things that are so great in life, like language, can unite people but also divide them . . . I take away just sort of the idea of human emotion, connecting every human being on the planet and, you know, fear and how people react to it. That emotion is probably the most powerful human emotion.
Have you ever given serious thought to the possibility of space aliens coming to Earth?
I’ve been looking up at the stars all my life. I loved astronomy, I loved science, even computer science. We lived in an area where you could see a ton of stars, like Yosemite National Park, and my father and I were always looking at the stars. So I’ve always believed that there’s got to be other life forms or intelligence out there. The vastness that surrounds us gives me perspective on some turmoil I might be going through, whether it’s a bad day or getting fired from a job. This has been a beautiful and almost religious experience for me.
In sci-fi movies of the past, your theoretical physicist character Ian Donnelly would probably have been the hero character, not Amy Adams as linguist Dr. Louise Banks.
Absolutely! That was the main reason ultimately why I wanted to do this, outside of wanting to work with Denis, tremendous as he is. I love Amy as a friend and actress, and I love her character in this.
I don’t think there are enough lead roles for women and this one is not about her being a victim. This is about a strong, intelligent woman who drives the story. The story is told through her eyes. I wanted to support that for Amy and just for cinema in general because I think that’s important.
How do you think moviegoers will react to Arrival?
It evokes a lot of thoughts and feelings, which to me is just the Holy Grail of cinema-going gone right. I’m an audience member just like anybody else. When you spend $11, $12, $14 or whatever the heck it is on a ticket, you go in to be entertained and check out, escape . . . but then also later to talk about things that create a good argument. I love when people argue, if it’s in a good way. That means you were invested, that means we did our job, right? And then if you’re emotional, it sticks with you for a while.
I can’t leave you without asking about the future of Hawkeye, your hero archer from the Avengers franchise, who is starting to get more screen time. Is he ever going to get his own movie?
It’s not my decision to make, but I’ve been really starting to enjoy learning about that character. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to have a little bit more storyline to kind of jump into. I love that character and I think it’s fantastic. He and Black Widow are my favourites.