Jeremy Renner, Piano Man

The trick to Oscar campaigning this season is to go on talk shows to underline the disparity between you and the character that you play. Best Actress nominee Gabourey Sidibe has taken great points to point out that the title character in Precious is nothing like the bubbly, Justin Timberlake-loving Sidibe in real life, while Best Supporting Actor contender Stanley Tucci has subtly reminded interviewers that he is not actually a molester, because do you see a molester mustache on him anymore? In that vein, I can only assume that Jeremy Renner went on The View today to prove that he is not really a sexy bomb tech but instead a piano-playing Ed Helms from The Hangover, or something.

The Oscar-nominated actor took to the baby grand to play and sing a song that he wrote called "Your World" (too many !!!!!s), and acted cajoled into doing so by the View hostesses, who probably had no earthly idea who Jeremy Renner was or that he had written a song until Renner's publicist told them. The effect is a little too "Don't make me sing!" for me, though I'll always give the former Movieline coverboy the benefit of the doubt. Still, couldn't Renner have invited a chaps-clad Kathryn Bigelow onto the stage to jazz things up?

Did Jeremy Renner Sing Himself Out of an Oscar on The View? [Vulture]