Jeremy Renner was ready to lose his job as Hawkeye in the Marvel superhero franchise because his priorities changed since becoming a father to daughter, Ava.
The actor recalled that he once dared Marvel Studio to recast his character if the bosses weren't willing to give him the time off to spend with his young child. Renner said that he took a pretty gnarly stance during the filming of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the follow-up to the first "Avengers" movie in 2015.
In an interview with Men's Health, Renner said that his job as an actor takes the second spot over his daughter until Ava tells her dad that she would rather hang out with her friends. Fortunately, Marvel kept him on as Hawkeye and will be debuting the TV series with the titular character this November on the Disney+ streaming platform.
Jeremy Renner as a Dad
Renner revealed that he and the cast of the "Avengers," including Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson, have had a group chat for the last 10 years. Renner said that they don't discuss their jobs as actors in this group chat but talk about their families and kids.
"We speak about our kids and, you know, divorces and marriages and house building. We speak about just our life stuff, you know?" Renner said. "Our friendship is very, very special and very unique, and I love them. I love them."
Renner became a dad sometime in 2013 with his ex-wife Sonni Pacheco. Early on, Renner realized that he could not keep working half the time in London, where Marvel mostly films their superhero projects, while his daughter remains based in Los Angeles. Thus, the actor has since picked projects that could accommodate his need to spend time with his daughter or at least allow him to fly back to L.A. for his weekend visits.
According to reports, Renner has a very specific request to include his weekend visits to his daughter in his movie contracts; otherwise, he won't be part of the project.
Renner's Custody Battle
The actor has been in a custody battle over Ava with his ex-wife since their divorce in 2015. Pacheco, who wants sole custody, has filed several complaints against her ex-husband, including that he once tried to shoot her or that Renner is knee-deep into his substance abuse issues. Pacheco also alleged that Renner bit their daughter out of anger.
Renner's lawyers have denied the accusations and accused Pacheco of character assassinations. They also issued a statement saying that the actor's primary focus is Ava's wellbeing and that his ex-wife's dramatization of certain instances has been one-sided. The actor's representatives also alleged that Pacheco has been accessing Ava's trust fund for her personal benefit.
The actor told Men's Health that he does not want to be involved in Pacheco's mudslinging in the press. Instead, he would respond to the allegations in court because responding in public will add fuel to the fire.
