Jeremy Renner continues to open up about his near-fatal snowplow accident in Nevada just over a year ago.
Renner was a guest on Wednesday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and discussed his arduous recovery.
The Marvel star, who admitted he was "pretty banged up," shared with Fallon how the accident occurred while trying to prevent a runaway Sno-Cat from crushing his nephew. The harrowing event left Renner with 38 broken bones and significant injuries, including a leg now mostly made of metal, as well as metal implants in half of his face and the entire right side of his back. Remarkably, he recalled staying calm even as one of his eyes was hanging out of his head.
"It was brutal, dude," Renner recounted. Despite the pain and severity of his injuries, he emphasized the importance of remaining composed in such critical moments. "There's wonderful lessons in that, right? I mean, I can go on and on about what happened for the 45 minutes of being on the ice, but the real learning lessons from it -- there are so many great gifts of being tested to your limits, right? Your physical limits, your spiritual limits, emotional limits. I won't have a bad day for the rest of my life. It's impossible. There's that gift."
Renner spoke candidly about how the accident and recovery process was as much a part of his family's story as his own. Reflecting on the experience, he found it "pretty cathartic" and "quite healing" to discuss what happened. He highlighted the importance of focusing on the present and taking life step by step, a lesson he believes everyone should embrace.
"If I didn't breathe, then I would have been gone. Forget the eyeball and all the titanium and the broken bones. It doesn't matter, right? So to think of it step by step, I think, is a really great reminder of what we all should be looking at in life," Renner shared.
Throughout his recovery, Renner updated his fans via social media, sharing milestones and expressing gratitude for their support. His determination and resilience culminated in his return to work on the forthcoming third season of Mayor of Kingstown, set to premiere on June 2.
"Hope this works out that I can ACTUALLY pull this off for our production and more importantly the fans," he wrote on Instagram.
Jeremy Renner on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Speaking to ET's Kevin Frazier earlier this week, the 53-year-old actor beamed with pride not only at how far he's come in his recovery but also at how far his 11-year-old daughter, Ava, has been on that same journey.
"She is everything. She's my life force. I felt such guilt for not wanting to come back 'cause I was OK not coming back to this planet, but I felt so bad because I forgot about my daughter," Renner admitted to ET. "I forgot about everybody else, but she's my life force, man. It took me away from any pain. I would feel, 'So, all I have to do is get better for her' [because] when you do that, you're not worried about yourself and how you're feeling and how broken you are. It's like, 'How do I help my daughter not be scared that her dad's not doing so well?' So, it was quite a blessing to have her as my ally, my champion through this, and she became a much stronger young woman because of that."
Jeremy Renner and Ava
It was back in April 2024 when Renner -- who shares Ava with his ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco -- made his triumphant return to the red carpet for the first time since the New Year's Day accident near his home in the Mt. Rose Highway area of Reno, Nevada. He donned a blue suit while Ava, 10 at the time, wore a matching navy blue gown. She held his hand while Renner walked with the help of a cane, which he held with his other hand.
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