Hellboy Director Guillermo del Toro Clarifies Jeremy Renner Casting Reports

Reports surfaced earlier this holiday weekend that Jeremy Renner had once been considered for the titular role in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy (2004), before turning it down. del Toro has since taken to Twitter to clarify that Renner was never considered to play Big Red, a role that eventually went to Ron Perlman. Instead, del Toro says the role they wanted Renner for was the supporting character of Agent John Myers, a character original to the film. That spot was played in the final cut by Rupert Evans (Charmed).

del Toro dropped the truth bomb on Twitter earlier this evening, quoting a story from an online news outlet.

“I was just reading the script and [thinking] like, ‘I don’t get this…’ I just couldn’t connect to it,” Renner told EW. “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.”

Though he wasn’t in the film, the actor had no regrets over passing on the role. After all, just a few years later he’d be cast in Thor and his career would receive a breath of fresh air.

“There’s zero regrets, zero. Most of the time it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m glad I didn’t do it,’ and it made sense to me,” Renner explained. “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.”

He did end joining genre entertainment not long after, appearing as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s since made five on-screen appearances and has been mentioned numerous other times in passing through the MCU’s various properties.

Would you have liked to see Renner in del Toro’s original Hellboy? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt!

The Hellboy reboot will be available digitally on July 9th ahead of a home media release on July 23rd. The original Hellboy — the film in which Renner was offered a role — and it’s sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army are available wherever movies are sold.