Jeremy Renner jokes the Avengers are his real core group of friends

Almost 30 years ago, a group of American high-school students in Spokane, Washington, started a game of tag that continues to this day.

As 40-somethings now, they still play for one month every year, even though their lives have taken them in different directions.

For them, age, geography, jobs, illness, marriage and children are no obstacle to that ultimate high of shouting "You're It!".

A feature article on them and their game in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in 2013 caught the eye of Hollywood, and voilà, here comes the comedy Tag, opening here tomorrow.

US actor Jeremy Renner - best known for playing Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a role he will reprise in next year's untitled Avengers sequel - leads the ensemble cast as the only undefeated player in the group.

Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress and Jon Hamm are the other players who are determined to tag him on the day of his wedding, to which they are not invited.

At our interview at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, Renner said the story appealed to him because it was true.

"The script was hysterical, but it also attracted me because it was about friendship lasting in perpetuity.

"I've moved around a lot, so I think having continuity from your past is really important. I'm a big believer in holding on to things that matter.

"If you value something, it sometimes takes great effort to keep it," said the 47-year-old, who has a five-year-old daughter with his ex-wife.

Did you read the WSJ article?

I read it when I got the script. I had home videos which were even more interesting of how real these guys played this game. It also got me very excited. At first, I didn't care for a bunch of old men playing tag, this was ridiculous. But how committed they are to it, that really kind of got me.

Did you meet the real guys?

I wasn't there that day when they came on set. But they came to my house, 10, 12 of them, and we had a big party with the cast and all the real guys.

Do you have a group of friends like this?

Yeah, they are called the Avengers (laughs). In high school, I had a core group of friends that are really, really tight. We did softball and those type of activities that friends might do. I haven't spoken to them in a while, but if I did, it would be like nothing went by, because I see them over the years at high school reunions. I am almost always on the road, so it's tough to create roots, but I do. I am a very loyal friend and I have lots of loyal friends.

You fractured your right elbow and left wrist after falling (6m) while performing a stunt for tag, after which the production team used cgi to remove your casts in post-production. what happened?

It was just a stunt rig that kept breaking. We tried to do it practical. And the reason I kept asking to do it was because I could do it better and make the stunt look good.

And we did it like three, four, five times and we were just taking a very, very long time and we tried it another way and it was an accident and I just fell. And we went up and did it again (laughs).

And I went, 'Okay, we should probably stop, this is starting to hurt'. And then came back from lunch and finished the day.

Are you competitive? And are you a good loser?

"At this point, at my age, I don't care. I will give it a go. But I am really kind of competitive only with myself. Like breaking my arms in this movie, that was a challenge to myself and my body to heal fast and to be counted for this movie. (The untitled Avengers sequel) was happening after that, so I was really competitive with myself to overcome the obstacles.

Were you good at sports as a child?

I was really nimble and fast, whether it was soccer or Kick the Can, which was a version of Tag. They called me 'white lightning' as a kid because I had white hair and I was just fast as hell. So anything that required that, I think I was probably pretty good at, but nothing to put on my resume.

Did your inner child come out during filming?

My inner child is a lot easier for me to express when you have got a little one. I play make believe for a living, right? With a child, it's like having a partner and being a fool (laughs). (My daughter) makes me more of a fool and she loves me for it.