Jeremy Renner: The Best Actor Who Could

“Hurt Locker” star Jeremy Renner hit New York this week with a thunderclap. On Tuesday morning he and co-star Anthony Mackie were on the “Today” show when word came that Renner was nominated for an Academy Award ‘ best actor. He and Mackie embraced. Back in September 2008, when “The Hurt Locker” debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, it was an indie film with no budget. The actors had no publicists. The whole thing was a crap shoot.

Now Mackie is rehearsing on Broadway for a major play. And Renner did “Letterman” and some other shows. I ran into him last night at the Greenwich Hotel having drinks. He’d just been at dinner up at Elaine’s with his manager Beth Holden and publicist Sue Patricola and the famed Bobby Zarem. When the waitresses at the Greenwich realized who he was, they fetched Renner his favorite drink: Woodford Reserve mash bourbon. It went down smooth. He was joined for a bit by Oscar Isaac, from the upcoming “Sucker Punch” and “Robin Hood.” Isaac just found out his long-awaited “Agora” opens in May.

A year ago, Renner was on a short-lived TV series that followed “Lost” and no one remembers. “The Hurt Locker” was still mostly unknown to everyone. Now he’s a star. He just finished “The Town,” directed by Ben Affleck, with Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively. It sounds like a winner.

What did he do before this? In 2002, he played Jeffrey Dahmer in a feature film. Don’t hold it against him. No one knew he’d be an overnight sensation after 15 years in the business.