'Hawkeye' star Jeremy Renner recalls working as a makeup artist before becoming an actor

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By Nika Shakhnazarova

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Before becoming one of MCU's iconic leading men, Jeremy Renner was a well-respected makeup artist.

The Hawkeye star has recalled the time he worked in the makeup industry early in his career to help pay the bills.

Renner, 51, landed the gig after he had worked in a mall in the early 1990s as a fragrance model with a friend during the festive season.

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Credit: REUTERS / Alamy

"And, so after that was done and we made some good money, also made friends within the department because we’re pretty much the only guys in that sort of cosmetic department," he told Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast.

Opportunity struck again quickly after the new year arrived, and Renner was quick to snap it up.

"So, at the end of that gig, come January, there's an opening at the Lancôme cosmetics counter," he said. "I'm like, 'Oh, I'm going to go over to the gals. I already know them.' I'm like, 'What’s going on? Let's talk about this.'"

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Credit: Sipa US / Alamy

He added: "And they already love me in a way, right? I knew nothing about cosmetics. So, I sit down and have a meeting with them. It's like, 'Tell us about your experience with makeup.' I'm like, 'Well, I do my own makeup.'"

The two-time Oscar nominee explained how he applied his makeup skills while doing theater and then asked the two women who interviewed him why they wore makeup and why they wanted to look beautiful before explaining how he could offer a unique perspective.

"Wouldn’t it be interesting to get a man's opinion on how a woman looks like with makeup on?" he said. "So that was my gangster psychological way in. So I got the job."

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Credit: REUTERS / Alamy

Renner recalls not being too into skincare, and instead wanted to perfect his craft when it came to makeup application.

"I was interested in more like the makeup part of it, only because of that statement, how I ended up applying makeup, because I wouldn't touch a woman's face unless she felt comfortable and realized I asked her the right four or five questions, first, and it's not me trying to do anything else besides witness her and understand her," he went on.

"'How do I make this woman feel beautiful?' because beauty comes from within, right here in your heart. This is only going to express that. That was my job as a makeup artist, in my eyes."

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy