So the search for the actor to lead the next Bourne movie is over. We reported last week that Jeremy Renner had won the lead role in The Bourne Legacy. While people were mainly happy with the choice, a lot of individuals were left wondering how he got the role. Sure, he’s a great actor but many felt like he wasn’t mainstream enough to lead the franchise.
Vulture recently gave us a breakdown on how Renner grabbed the role and it’s quite interesting. It turns out that Renner wasn’t director Tony Gilroy‘s first choice. In fact, he wasn’t the studio’s first choice either, he was the de facto choice. Apparently, Gilroy wanted to go with someone who wasn’t really known, someone who wouldn’t ““pull focus from the central character.” This is why he originally wanted Joel Edgerton. Universal on the other hand, being the studio, obviously wanted someone “younger and cooler” or someone with star power. They were seriously considering Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Shia LaBeouf or Colin Farrell.
The problem with the actors above is that they refused to screen test and their agents advised against it. Gilroy had insisted though that everyone must do a formal screen test. The only exception with that was Taylor Kitsch who was already attached to Savages and likely wouldn’t have time to take on The Bourne Legacy.
Meanwhile, the rights on the movie were going to expire if they kept waiting around. So in the end, they just went with Renner since they couldn’t keep waiting around for the perfect choice. That being said, Renner isn’t a bad choice, not by a long shot. He’s an incredible actor, not to mention a two time Oscar nominee and personally, I’m pretty stoked to see him in the role.
So there you have it, the story behind casting Renner. What do you think? Is he the right man for the job?