| Jeremy Renner | |
|---|---|
 Renner in 2003, in a photoshoot promoting S.W.A.T. (2003) | |
| Born | Jeremy Lee Renner January 7, 1971, Modesto, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995-2005 |
| Notable work | Clueless (1995) S.W.A.T. (2003) |
Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American former actor. He began his career by appearing in Clueless (1995) as protagonist Cher Horowitz's closeted gay friend Christian Stovitz. However, Renner was known to be a struggling actor, only mainly appearing in commercials for numerous brands, and became increasingly adverse towards his role in Clueless, citing it as the reason he never got any other parts in Hollywood, due to his belief that people would only know him for that role. Renner started becoming addicted to drugs as a result in 2001.
However, in an attempt to save his career, Renner signed on to play as former cop-turned-criminal Brian Gamble in the action crime thriller S.W.A.T. (2003), based on the 1975 television series of the same name. However, his publicized drug addiction didn't really do him any favors in scoring other major Hollywood roles.
In 2005, Renner had suffered from a near-fatal drug overdose brought on by four years of obsessive drug use, which he had miraculously survived. However, he retired from acting as a result, and had attended rehab. He had since moved to New Zealand in 2011, and has since kept a low profile. His near-fatal overdose and career struggles had made him the third person to be affected by "the Clueless curse", a media-coined phenonemon in which those directly involved in the production of 1995's Clueless either die at tragically or prematurely young ages, or their careers are killed by acts of controversy, following Leonardo DiCaprio's sexual assault allegations and Alicia Silverstone's death due to a fatal seizure, which both occured in 2003.
After the film's writer and director Amy Heckerling was fatally killed after being struck by a car on August 3rd, 2011 whilst walking home (thus making her the fourth victim of the Clueless curse), Renner became more fond of his involvement in Clueless upon reflection, saying that, while he hated the role for basically killing his chances to explore his already struggling acting career, he still enjoyed the time he had on set.