Hawkeye star Jeremy Renner revealed that, early on in his Marvel Cinematic Universe career, he dared the studio to recast him.

In an interview with Men's Health, Renner explained that he had to draw some firm boundaries with Marvel after his daughter was born. For a year and a half, he flew from London to L.A. every week to see her, usually for just a handful of hours. For Renner, this just wasn't going to cut it. "It taught me how to have the nuts to say, 'Everyone, fuck off. It's my time with my daughter,'" he said. However, he was warned that this attitude might cost him his job with Marvel.

"I said, 'Fine, recast me. I'm going to be here with my daughter.' It was pretty gnarly," Renner continued.

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Renner has portrayed Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the MCU since his first appearance in 2011's Thor. After five more appearances as the character, Renner is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Marvel Studios/Disney+ series, Hawkeye, which was first announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego in 2019. The series will follow Clint Barton as he trains Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop to take on the mantle of Hawkeye in what has been described by series co-director Bert (one half of the directing duo Bert & Bertie) as an "absurd Christmas story."

In a recent interview, Renner said he's not sure what his future looks like in the MCU following Hawkeye. "I don't have a crystal ball, or I'm not a soothsayer," Renner said. "But having Hailee [Steinfeld] come in, and these characters, I think it opens it up for six great episodes for this event type of television. After that, I have no idea. But these six episodes are pretty exciting."

After setting those boundaries early on in his MCU run, Renner has now been a part of the original Avengers crew for nearly a decade, recently referring to himself as the "grandpa" of the MCU. "She came in very, very prepared," Renner said of his Hawkeye co-star and MCU newcomer, Steinfeld. "She came in hot. She was ready. It's pretty awesome. It's pretty sad that it makes me feel old that I see a lotta people come in and see a lotta people go. I'm, like, a grandpa. It's terrible. But, yeah, no, Hailee came in, ready to rock and prepared and came to play, man."

Created by Jonathan Igla, Hawkeye is slated to release Nov. 24 on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere.

KEEP READING: Hawkeye: Renner Describes Clint and Kate's Relationship as 'Beautifully Intimate'

Source: Men's Health