Clint Barton appears to be a normal human. He hasn’t been subjected to radiation or outfitted with a bionic part or two. Barton definitely isn’t a god. However, he is the greatest living marksman on Earth which has earned him the name, Hawkeye, and a place among the Avengers.
Other than a brief appearance in Thor as part of SHIELD, nothing is known about the cinematic Hawkeye. In comics, Barton and his older brother lost their parents in a car crash when they were very young and were sent to an orphanage. Later, they ran away to the circus where Barton mastered archery. Unfortunately, he found out his mentor was committing illegal acts. Barton was going to report this when he was found out, beaten and left for dead. His brother stopped speaking to him, too. Left on his own, Barton began showing off his prowess with a bow in various small circuses before meeting Black Widow and joining SHIELD.
Jeremy Renner was born January 7, 1971 in Modesto, California. While attending junior college, he found his passion for acting and focused on the theatre before turning to television and film. Despite memorable roles on television series such as Angel and the short-lived ABC series, The Unusuals, Renner’s career didn’t really take off until his performance in The Hurt Locker. Renner was nominated for an Oscar for the film that would take home the Academy Award for Best Picture and five other wins. After being part of the ensemble casts for Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol and The Avengers, Renner stars in The Bourne Legacy in August.
For The Avengers, Renner did many of his own stunts. Joss Whedon, the director and writer, praised him, saying, “He’s an amazing fighter – his fight work is wonderful: precise, heroic, and you seldom have to double him.”
