[4] He attended Modesto Junior College, where he studied computer science and criminology, before he took a drama class as an elective and decided to pursue acting.

[4][11] Renner made his film debut as an underachieving student in the 1995 comedy National Lampoon's Senior Trip.

Over the next few years, Renner had guest roles in Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane (1999), The Net (1999), The Time of Your Life (1999), and Angel (2000).

He found the non-fiction role a challenge to cope with after he had finished shooting the film, knowing that Dahmer had murdered seventeen victims.

[18] In 2005, Renner starred with Julia Stiles and Forest Whitaker in A Little Trip to Heaven,[19] with roles in North Country and 12 and Holding.

After shooting Neo Ned, Renner was offered the lead in the Las Vegas indie Northtown, but the project never happened.

[20] Renner also had a small (though uncredited) role in skateboard film Lords of Dogtown as the manager of Emile Hirsch's character.

[21] He starred with Minnie Driver in Take and guest-starred as a patient (a reckless rock musician) in an episode of House.

[23] After starring with Dallas Roberts in the comedy-drama Ingenious and starring in the short-lived television series The Unusuals, Renner portrayed U.S. Army bomb disposal expert Sergeant First Class William James in the 2009 Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker (directed by Kathryn Bigelow).

[29] In 2011, Renner starred in the fourth Mission: Impossible installment, Ghost Protocol as William Brandt, and had an uncredited cameo appearance as Hawkeye in Thor for familiarity with his character for The Avengers, which was released in May 2012.

[35] Renner was also featured in the ensemble cast of David O. Russell's dramedy American Hustle, based on the controversial FBI ABSCAM operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The film, which was released in December 2013, also starred Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence in principal roles.

[46][47] Because of scheduling conflicts resulting from the filming of Infinity War and Endgame, he was unable to reprise his role as William Brandt in Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018).

[50][needs update] In 2024, Renner appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for the brand Silk, alongside his daughter.

He has performed songs on several film soundtracks: "I Drink Alone" for North Country, "American Pie" for Love Comes to the Executioner, and "Good Ole Rebel" for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

[55] Fast Company wrote extensively about Renner's app in April 2019, calling it "a surprising new kind of social media".

In September 2019, comedian Stefan Heck publicized his discovery of the fact that replies through the app appear as if they were sent by Renner himself in push notifications.

[12][70] He has studied Arnis and Muay Thai martial arts as preparation for his roles in the Mission: Impossible and Avengers franchises.

[83] By June 2024, Renner had recovered enough to be the subject of a cover story in that summer's issue of Men's Health magazine, which included his first-person recollection of the accident and a detailed description of his injuries.