Jeremy Renner Was Almost Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy

Ron Perlman might be the face of the original unwilling Harbinger of the Apocalypse in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy movies, but once upon a time, Marvel star Jeremy Renner was once offered the role.

While it's hard to imagine anyone besides Perlman as Hellboy (though Stranger Things star David Harbour gave it a pretty good shot in the reboot), Renner reveals that he was once approached for the role ages before he was offered the Hawkye role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking in an interview with Justin Long on the Life is Short podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), Renner reveals that he had been once considered for the role of Hellboy.

The casting team had offered him a considerable sum for the role, however, in the end the actor had to turn it down because he just couldn't understand the character he was asked to play.

" I was just reading the script and [thinking] like, ‘I don't get this…' I just couldn't connect to it. I said, ‘I can't find a way in [to this character], I don't know what I'd be doing,' so I had to say no. [...] There's zero regrets, zero," the Marvel star revealed, "Most of the time it's like, ‘Oh, I'm glad I didn't do it,' and it made sense to me. Not just Hellboy or whatever it was, and I'm not saying that it's a good or bad movie, it's not about that… I just wouldn't have fit there."

It's a good thing that Renner didn't force it either. It's not good to force yourself on material that you don't connect with. Perlman connected with the character, which is why his performance as Hellboy's been well loved by fans. Renner passed up on the role for something else, and now, the actor has a great career that's risen ever since he's joined the MCU. To each his own.

Marvel's latest release, Spider-Man: Far From Home, is currently screening in cinemas.

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