5 Jeremy Renner Movies & TV Shows Everyone Needs To Watch At Least Once

It didn't take long for Jeremy Renner to ascend to the top of the A-list. After making his big screen bow as a student in 1995's "National Lampoon's Senior Trip," the Modesto, California native cut his teeth in independent film, playing the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the 2002 true crime thriller "Dahmer." After supporting parts in films like "S.W.A.T." and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," he started landing leading roles and coming into awards contention.

Renner proved that he could handle big action roles by temporarily taking over the Jason Bourne franchise from Matt Damon with 2012's "The Bourne Legacy," and he played Clint "Hawkeye" Barton in Marvel's "The Avengers" that same year, cementing his position near the top of the Tinseltown food chain. He's been part of the furniture in Hollywood ever since, but which of his projects stand out above the rest? Here are five Jeremy Renner movies and TV show everyone needs to watch at least once.

Set in the early years of the Iraq War, 2008's "The Hurt Locker" follows a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team who find themselves in need of a new leader when Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson (Guy Pearce) is killed in action. He's quickly replaced by Sergeant First Class William James (Jeremy Renner), whose preference to diffuse bombs by hand makes him a risk to his teammates, Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). Sanborn worries James is behaving recklessly, putting all of their lives in peril as he dismantles increasingly hazardous explosives. As their tour of duty drags on, it becomes increasingly clear that James' approach to his work stems from something other than a lack of professionalism.

One of the best war movies ever made, "The Hurt Locker" turned Jeremy Renner from a supporting player into a bona fide leading man. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (who made Oscar history as the first woman to win best director for the film), it's as tightly-wound as a rubber band ready to snap at any minute. Every bomb that James diffuses feels primed to explode, and we sweat bullets as he cuts one wire after another, wondering if he'll fatally snap the wrong one. Renner places us within the mindset of an obsessive thrill-seeker who has found his purpose in life and is unable to cope with life back home. The role earned Renner an Oscar nomination for best actor, and the film ranks high among all the 2000s best picture Oscar winners.

2010's "The Town" is about a group of lifelong friends in Boston who pull off an elaborate bank heist. One of the gang members, James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), takes bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage, despite the protests of his best friend, Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck). Jem eventually lets Claire go, and Doug learns that she actually lives in their neighborhood. While trying to find out if she can identify them based on their tattoos, Doug falls in love with Claire, which complicates his life of crime. With an FBI agent (Jon Hamm) on their trail and a violent crime boss (Pete Postlethwaite, who knew he was dying and gave one last great performance) pushing them to do another job, Doug is forced to choose which side of the law he's on.

After scoring a best actor Oscar nomination for "The Hurt Locker," Jeremy Renner returned to the awards race the very next year with "The Town," for which he earned a best supporting actor bid. Directed by Ben Affleck, it's a crackerjack thriller that stands alongside such Boston-based crime movies as "Mystic River," "The Departed," and Affleck's own "Gone Baby Gone." The movie's secret weapon is Renner's performance as Jem, a hotheaded wild card who's been attached at the hip to Doug practically since birth. Their friendship runs so deep it's understandable why Doug would keep Jem so close, even if his volatility makes him a liability in more ways than one.

In the icy tundra of the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, U.S. Wildlife Agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers the dead body of an 18-year-old Native American girl buried in the snow. After an autopsy reveals the girl, Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille), was raped and murdered, Lambert joins forces with FBI Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to track the killer down. Met with resistance by the local authorities, Lambert and Banner seek help from tribal police Chief Ben Shoyo (Graham Greene) and the Northern Arapaho tribe. Lambert and Banner find themselves in increasing danger as their investigation reveals a history of systemic abuse against native women in the region.

As Jeremy Renner moved into big budget Hollywood filmmaking with the "Mission: Impossible," "Bourne," and "Avengers" franchises, he used his rising star power to get movies with difficult subject matter off the ground, such as "Wind River." Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan of "Yellowstone" fame, it takes the form of a police procedural to raise awareness about the high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The film ends with a title card stating that, "While missing person statistics are compiled for every other demographic, none exist for Native American women." It's a chilling reminder of the abuses and indignities suffered upon the Native American population, made all the more devastating for coming at the end of a movie that has taken great pains to portray them with nuance and humanity.

Jeremy Renner made his first appearance as the Marvel character Clint "Hawkeye" Barton with an uncredited cameo in 2011's "Thor," teasing his full entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2012's "The Avengers." He was initially sent to kill Natasha "Black Widow" Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), but Barton instead befriended her, and throughout their "Avengers" adventures, the two are so intertwined that it's almost hard to think of one without the other (which makes that Black Widow scene in "Avengers: Endgame" so devastating). After Natasha's death in the MCU, Renner got his chance to shine with the Disney+ miniseries "Hawkeye," which put Barton front and center for the first time.

When "Hawkeye" kicks off, it's been a year since the Avengers faced off against Thanos in order to save humanity, and Barton is eager to return to a normal life. His plans to spend Christmas with his children are delayed by the arrival of the Tracksuit Mafia, led by an old enemy from Barton's past. He joins forces with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who has idolized Hawkeye since she watched him fight during the Battle of New York (which to this day remains one of the greatest fights scenes in the MCU). With the help of his new protégée, Barton confronts his past as the Ronin. The inventive fight sequences and sparkling chemistry between the leads make "Hawkeye" a must-watch for Renner fans.

In Kingstown, Michigan, there's only one business with any room for growth: mass incarceration. For years, the McLusky family has served as town mediators, keeping the peace between the gangs, the cops, the wardens, and the prisoners. Middle child Michael "Mike" McLusky (Jeremy Renner) serves as second-in-command to his older brother, Mitch (Kyle Chandler). When Mitch dies suddenly, Mike finds himself elevated to the unofficial title of "Mayor of Kingstown," granted all of the powers that come with it. An ex-con who's desperate to escape the small town that previously housed him behind bars, Mike instead finds himself trying to keep peace in a place that by its very nature is incapable of having it.

Having worked with Jeremy Renner on "Wind River," Taylor Sheridan gifted him a starring role in "Mayor of Kingstown," one of the many TV dramas the prolific showrunner has on the air. Ranking high among the best Taylor Sheridan TV shows, "Kingstown" confronts issues of systemic racism, the prison industrial complex, and corruption in municipal government. Although it boasts an impressive supporting cast that includes Dianne Wiest as Mike's mother and Edie Falco as a tough-nosed prison warden, "Kingstown" is nothing if not a showcase for Renner. A sort of dark analogue to the New Jersey mayor he played in "American Hustle," Mike may try to do good things, but more often than not, he's confronted with the reality that it's just not possible.