Renner’s Close Call On Hurt Locker Set

A special-effects technician was left permanently injured on the set of Oscar winning war drama THE HURT LOCKER when explosive powder accidentally ignited feet away from star JEREMY RENNER.

The actor, who played an explosives defuser in the Oscar-winning film, was terrified when the unnamed crew member attempted to fashion a bomb but accidentally created a massive blast on the desert set in Jordan.

The star wasn’t hurt in the accident, but the specialist wasn’t so lucky.

Renner recalls, “Our special-effects guy had to use Chinese fireworks for gunpowder. He had to break them in half and grind them out.

“So he’s doing this on a rock, the heat’s getting to him, and he doesn’t realise that the heat’s also going on the black powder, and he’s creating friction, so it blows up in his face. I was two feet away, and it literally fried his nose off.

“His vision and his ears were all messed up, but he was back to work two days later. He’s all right now, but I’m sure he’ll forever be damaged.”