It’s been two years since a life-threatening snowplow accident landed Jeremy Renner in an ICU with more than 30 broken bones.
On the morning of Jan. 1, 2023, Renner and his nephew were attempting to tow a family vehicle out of heavy snow near his home in Reno, Nevada, when the actor was crushed by a 14,000-pound 1988 PistenBully — an accident that left him with a slew of serious injuries, including eight ribs broken in 14 places; a broken right knee; a broken right ankle; a broken left tibia; a broken left ankle; a broken right clavicle; a broken right shoulder; a pierced liver and a collapsed lung, as the Deseret News reported.
“I remember every undulation,” Renner recently told Men’s Health. “I remember my head cracking on the thing and it just pressing on me — it’s exactly like you think it would feel. An immovable object and a crushing force, and something’s gotta give. But thank God my skull didn’t fully give. And then it kept going. Undulate, undulate, undulate, undulate. Cheekbone broke, eye socket broke, and then from the crushing of getting run over by the machine, my eye bulged out. I could see my left eyeball with my right eyeball. I was screaming for a breath.”
Neighbors at the scene were convinced he had died for a few seconds. Doctors weren’t sure he’d ever walk again.
But amid hospital stays and surgeries and physical therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the support of family, friends and fans, Renner has made a recovery that led late night host Jimmy Kimmel to declare the Marvel actor “the toughest Avenger.”
Here’s an overview of what the “Hawkeye” star has been up to amid his ongoing recovery.
Is Jeremy Renner still acting?
A few months after the accident, Renner’s previously filmed Disney+ show “Rennervations” made its debut. The show features the actor traveling around the world to repurpose decommissioned government vehicles for communities in need — a longtime passion of Renner’s, as the Deseret News previously reported. Renner called the show “a driving force in his recovery.”
Renner officially returned to acting about a year after the accident as he started filming for the third season of “Mayor of Kingstown.” The season premiered on Paramount Plus this past summer, and the show was recently renewed for a fourth season. Production for the new season reportedly begins later this month, per Forbes.
The actor was also cast in “Knives Out 3″ — which is his first film following the accident and is expected to release on Netflix this year. Although his role in the film remains unknown, he’ll star alongside Daniel Craig, Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jeremy Renner resumes his passion for music
A lesser known part of Renner’s career involves music — but it was one of his first passions.
“My family was my first love, and then music,” the 52-year-old actor told People magazine in 2019. “Acting came into my brain around 20. Music has always been my first love as far as something other than my family.”
Renner wrote a collection of songs following the accident, and released his third EP at the start of 2024 titled “Love and Titanium,” which refers to a quote he gave during an interview with Diane Sawyer in April 2023 — his first televised interview since the accident.
“I chose to survive,” Renner told Sawyer, per Deseret News. “I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I’ve been refueled and refilled with love and titanium.”
Jeremy Renner gives back
Renner has been engaged in his community, and frequently shares on social media a number of projects he supports.
He recently spoke to a group of students in Nevada about the dangers of opioids.
“Hopefully it keeps doors of communication open with peers and parents as these young minds develop and further get informed about the very real dangers of opioids and seemingly harmless drugs that may be made available to them,” the actor shared on X. “To the adults, I pressed that information and communication are the most powerful tools to combat these drugs and protect our youth.”
This holiday season he was the Grand Marshal for the Hollywood Christmas Parade, which benefited the Marine Toys for Tots foundation. He also launched Camp Rennervation this past summer, a camp designed for foster and at-risk youth.
“Thank you to all the sponsors and people who donated to this amazing camp,” he shared on X. “So much beautiful movement and love and life shared with these 110 foster youth … who have blossomed and grew together this week. My heart is full.”
What Jeremy Renner has learned
Renner has been open about his takeaways from the accident — including joking that it was “the easiest way” for him to quit smoking.
“Because I almost killed myself I didn’t even think about smoking. It was easy peasy!” he said with a laugh during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, per Deseret News.
Overall, he said, the accident has afforded him to have a more positive outlook on life.
“There are so many great gifts to being tested to your limits — your physical limits, your spiritual limits, emotional limits. I won’t have a bad day for the rest of my life. It’s impossible, right? There’s that gift,” Renner told Jimmy Fallon a few months ago, per Deseret News.
For the 53-year-old actor, one of the biggest changes since the accident is his increased ability to open up and accept help.
“I’m a tough guy to love, I think?” he recently told Men’s Health. “And I think my family and people put all that aside. There’s a lot of people that love me. And I had no idea. I had to learn how to receive all this love, and it’s not easy. From people you don’t even know, even. Why is this accident such a thing? But then I said … stop asking why. Just receive it. I was famous for having a bow and arrow; now I’m famous for overcoming something as a man.”