Ohmygawd, That Seems Like You

Jeremy Renner, who played the bomb disposal specialist in The Hurt Locker, was featured in September's issue of Men's Health, which might have interested me if I'd seen the movie or, for that matter, any of his work ever, at all. But, nope. I haven't.

Andrew was reading the article at the beach last week, and his smirk was followed by a half mumbled, "Ohmygawd, that seems JUST like YOU," in what he thought was under his breath, and it told me that I might want to take a look at what the thirty nine year old California native and I were perceived to have in common.

So I think that it's this.

"After moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties, Renner needed all the wisdom he could summon. He wanted roles that were nourishing and authentic, not mindless fun, a standard that left him teetering on the brink of indigence. While holding out, he survived on twenty nine cent burgers from McDonald's.

'You could call it making sacrifices," he says, "but those sacrifices have made me who I am, so I don't know if I'd consider them sacrifices or blessings."

These days there are more opportunities, but also more opportunities to go astray. He refused to settle when times were tough. Now that he is in demand, he is even more determined not to let money dictate his choices. 'My plan is to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and not because I have to,' says Renner. 'I call it my Pull Chute Plan. That's a military thing, you know. Time to pull the chute, like, time to kind of float and enjoy the view.'

That may sound risky, and maybe it is, which is why Renner some years ago turned to real estate. Even in a depressed economy, he earns more money gutting, remodeling, and designing houses than he does making movies.

'During the Academy Awards, I was sleeping under painter's plastic in a guest apartment with no plumbing, and had to brush my teeth at Starbuck's,' says Renner."

Hm.

Well.

I've never been to the Academy Awards.