Avengers star Jeremy Renner has reflected on the serious snowplough accident that nearly claimed his life a year ago.
On 1 January 2023, Renner was crushed by the seven-tonne vehicle outside his home in rural Nevada. He broke over 30 bones, and required multiple surgeries after being rushed to hospital.
Renner, who is best known for playing Clint “Hawkeye” Barton in the popular Marvel film franchise, reflected on the incident to mark the one-year anniversary.
Speaking to CNN, he said: “I’m just so blessed I had so many things to live for, I have a giant family, a 10-year-old daughter.”
“I would have disappointed and really messed up a lot of people’s lives if I would have passed. I’m also pretty stubborn, there’s a lot for me to fight for and recovery was just a one-way road in my mind and my recovery.”
The accident occured when Renner used the plough to rescue his nephew, who had got stuck in a car during a bad storm.
After successfully towing his nephew’s vehicle, Renner exited the plough, which then rolled towards him, crushing him.
Jeremy Renner pictured in September 2023— (Getty Images for Level 8)
Renner told CNN that his “poor nephew” had had to react in the aftermath, with the actor being airlifted to hospital in Reno, Nevada.
“I gave him you know, images that he can never unsee,” Renner continued, adding that he knew “my healing would be healing for him”.
“I had never thought about my own physical ailments or my own pain or my own anguish - so the one-way road to recovery was like a mental attitude,” he added. “And that attitude was always to get better. And there’s no option other than that.”
Renner also shared a post on Instagram paying tribute to his “sweet nephew who helped save” his life.
The actor, who is also known for his Oscar-nominated turn in the war drama The Hurt Locker, has spent much of the year recovering from his injuries.
Renner in ‘Hawkeye’— (Disney Plus)
However, he explained to CNN that he will shortly be returning to acting work, filming the third season of the Paramount+ series The Mayor Of Kingstown .
“I think I’m strong enough, he said. “We’ll see. I mean, I literally go back in a week. But I’ll be doing my best, trying my hardest.”
In October, Renner, who is also a musician, announced that he would be releasing a new album inspired by his brush with death.
Postin on Instagram , the actor teased a new collection of songs titled Love and Titanium, explaining that creating the tracks had been a “cathartic” way of dealing with his near-death experience.
“A collection of music we wrote about different milestones in my journey of recovery since Jan 1st this year,” he wrote. “Love and Titanium has been painful, deeply healing, and ultimately cathartic for me to create. I hope I get the courage to share with you all.”
