THE HURT LOCKER star Jeremy Renner braved a real-life minefield in Afghanistan on Sunday (27Jun10) to help raise awareness of explosives experts risking their lives to defuse deadly bombs.
Renner won an Oscar nomination for his role as Sergeant First Class William James, who leads a team of bomb disposal experts through Iraq in Kathryn Bigelow's critically-acclaimed war drama.
And the actor found himself walking through a minefield for real after he flew out to the Middle East as part of a United Nations (U.N.) mission to highlight victims of the hidden bombs and those who are helping defuse the explosives.
Renner visited the region of Bagram in Afghanistan and donned a Kevlar suit and protective mask to walk through a minefield at the weekend (26-27Jun10).
He tells Reuters, "It's tremendous. Seeing the guys firsthand is a wonderful gift for me. I don't think there are many guys in my position - I'm just a silly actor - that get an opportunity to come out to Afghanistan at a time of war and get to experience this."