Renner joins the "Mission Impossible" team as an analyst in the franchise's fourth installment. He credits Tom Cruise with being a generous teacher of the action genre.
"He sets the bar really high, and his work ethic is unlike anything I've seen, and I consider myself a really hard worker as well, so it was great bar to reach for," Renner said.
Renner said he and Cruise became friends after spending a year together making the movie.
"We got along because of that ethic, our love for cinema," Renner said. "He's a good human, and it's nice to be surrounded by the people that inspire you."
Renner enjoyed exploring this new side of movie-making, and he has several more action films on his schedule for 2012. But don't expect him to become branded as only an "action star."
"I don't find myself doing this for the rest of my life. I don't think my body could probably take it, but if I mix it up, it'll be fine," Renner sad.
When Renner does have downtime, he likes to renovate old homes.
Last year, he gave me a tour of one of his projects - director Preston Sturgess' old house in Hollywood. Unfortunately, Renner's schedule isn't allowing time for any outside projects.
"Not right at the moment. I hope to do one maybe next summer. I don't know, that requires a bit of time," Renner said. "I can only focus on 10 minutes ahead. I'm really looking forward to spending time with my family over the holidays."
