Jeremy Renner reflects on the changes in his life and his decisions as an actor after the accident

Jeremy Renner, known for his role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has undergone profound changes in his life following a near-fatal snowplow accident last year. During an appearance on the podcast “Smartless,” Renner spoke with hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes about how the traumatic event influenced his career choices and personal life.

Renner admitted that he now avoids particularly demanding roles. This change in his approach to acting came after he suffered serious injuries, including nearly 40 broken bones when he was run over by a snow plow. The incident left him struggling with the mental and physical effects of his injuries, making it difficult for him to return to work.

“When I started acting again, I was very afraid of doing fictional films,” Renner admitted. “I still try to live in reality. It was a difficult boundary for me to cross. It was a big, big mental challenge to overcome that hurdle.”

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Despite his fears, Renner found comfort in returning to his role on “Mayor of Kingstown,” a character and series he was already familiar with. “I don’t take it too seriously,” he said. “I’m playing a role that I can play very well, and I know the series very well, so it was easy for me to slip back into it.”

Renner stressed, however, that he couldn’t have taken on a more challenging role. “If it had been a very challenging role, I wouldn’t have been able to take it. Not challenging, because the show is challenging, but if I had to play someone like Dahmer, something that’s so far removed from me, I wouldn’t have the energy to do it. I don’t have the drive.”

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Renner’s accident, which occurred on January 1, 2023, near his home in Reno, Nevada, left a lasting scar on him. He recounted the harrowing experience to Men’s Health, describing the feeling of his head cracking and the crushing force of the machinery. “I remember my head slamming into the thing and it just pressing down on me – it’s exactly what you’d imagine. An immovable object and a crushing force, and something has to give. But thank God my skull didn’t completely give way.”

In addition to breaking 38 bones, Jeremy Renner suffered a perforated liver and a collapsed lung. His recovery involved multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation. Despite the ordeal, Renner has found a positive attitude and talks about the “wonderful lessons” he learned from the experience.

“I could talk forever about what happened and the 45 minutes on the ice, but there are so many great gifts,” he told Jimmy Fallon on the “Tonight Show” last month. “Being pushed to your limits – to your physical limits, to your mental limits, right? To your emotional limits.”

Renner concluded with a newfound appreciation for life. “I will never have a bad day for the rest of my life. That’s impossible.”