Jeremy Renner has been through hell, and somehow, he’s walking back out of it with a script in hand and his family by his side. After surviving a brutal snowplow accident on January 1, 2023, that left him with more than 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and his left eyeball literally out of its socket, the two-time Oscar nominee is officially back in the movie business.
“What I experienced when I passed was this collective divinity and beautiful, powerful peace. It is the most exhilarating peace you could ever feel,” he told The Guardian. It’s the highest adrenaline rush. Everything stopped … maybe for 30 seconds, maybe a minute. It was definitive for me. It all made perfect sense.”
Jeremy Renner Is Back on Set, But Only on His Terms
But make no mistake, this isn’t just a comeback. It’s a conscious pivot.
“I’ll never work again unless it’s with the people I want to work with,” Renner told Empire while promoting his raw, no-holds-barred memoir, “My Next Breath.” “And my family can be there, or my daughter can be there, or my friends can be there.”
It’s not Hollywood fluff. Renner nearly died after being run over by a 14,000-pound snowcat while trying to save his nephew from being crushed. So much so that the actor literally flatlined and revealed he indeed saw the other side. And when he came back, he didn’t return to the same game.
Renner’s first film since “Avengers: Endgame”? Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is coming to Netflix this December. He plays Dr. Nat Sharp, a new character tangled in Benoit Blanc’s latest whodunnit. The only reason he signed on? He could bring 15 family members with him to the set. “I only did it because I could bring them all,” he said.
A Life Rewritten & a Career Reborn
Before the accident, Renner was best known for playing action-heavy, emotionally guarded roles. We have “The Hurt Locker,” “The Town,” “The Bourne Legacy,” “Mission: Impossible,” and, of course, “Hawkeye” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Off-screen, he was juggling music, real estate renovations (yes, “Rennervations” is a real thing), and raising his daughter Ava.
But it was a lot for the actor, and not always fulfilling. “Four birthdays in a row I didn’t see one family member,” Renner admitted. “I was wildly successful, and I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity. But it wasn’t healthy for a balanced life.”
That imbalance ended the moment the snowcat crushed him. In “My Next Breath,” he describes hearing the sound of his bones breaking. Everything from his skull, jaw, eye socket, pelvis, and realizing he might never get up again. Yet somehow, 12 days after being airlifted to the hospital, he walked out. Slowly, painfully, but determined to make it out alive and make it out walking again.
Today, he’s focused on what actually matters. His daughter, his nonprofit RennerVation Foundation, which supports foster and at-risk youth, and projects that align with his new mantra. Yes, if it doesn’t feed the soul, it’s a pass.
Renner also found peace in honesty, meaning he’s not sugarcoating his past. In interviews, he’s acknowledged being a “cranky, cynical, grubby cat mother***er” who didn’t always make time for what mattered. But now? “I’ve never been more connected and more open and more vulnerable and more loving,” he said.
The Role of a Lifetime
There’s something poetic about Renner returning to the screen in “Wake Up Dead Man.” It’s a title that, unintentionally or not, mirrors his own story. He really was a dead man. Now, he’s wide awake, more alive than ever, and unwilling to settle.
He’s said goodbye to empty hustle. No more sets where he can’t bring his daughter, and no more chasing franchises just because they’re hot.
“I didn’t see any of my career, or my jobs, when I died,” Renner confessed. “Nothing. Not one clip. It was all just the love experiences that I had. So I’ll continue to water that garden with the people I love.”
And yes, we’ll continue to watch.
“It forced me to get out of my own way of being private and a recluse to share something,” he said. “I’ve never been more connected and more open and more vulnerable and more loving. And I’ve never received more goodwill. That connection was buried deep, deep, deep in my soul, beforehand, but now it’s at the forefront. That’s all that matters to me.”
“It’s an honor to be alive,” the actor revealed.
Renner’s memoir “My Next Breath” is available now. “Wake Up Dead Man” premieres December 12 on Netflix.
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Jeremy Renner Says His Comeback After 14,000-Pound Snowplow Accident Is a Lesson in Survival & Strength