Snowplough accident not stopping Jeremy Renner from promoting new show Rennervations
LOS ANGELES – Using a cane to help him walk, Jeremy Renner made his first red-carpet appearance on April 11 since the near-fatal accident earlier in 2023 in which he was crushed by a snowplough.
And the American actor – who played the superhero Hawkeye in Marvel films such as The Avengers (2012) and the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021) – says he never doubted he would recover enough to attend the premiere of his new renovation show, Rennervations.
Now streaming on Disney+, the four episodes follow Renner, who owns a home-renovation business, as he works with experts to convert decommissioned government buses and other vehicles.
With the help of celebrity friends such as actors Anil Kapoor, Anthony Mackie and Vanessa Hudgens, he turns these vehicles into new creations that will serve children and communities in need in the United States, Mexico and India.
“It was one of the big milestones I set for myself physically,” says Renner, 52.
“We all worked so hard to make this happen. I wasn’t going to allow some stupid snowplough to stop me or stop this show from coming out.”
Renner – who earned Oscar nominations for the war movie The Hurt Locker (2008) and crime drama The Town (2010) – had jumped behind the wheel of a snow-removal tractor to pull his nephew’s car out of the snow in Reno, Nevada, on New Year’s Day.
When the tractor started sliding, Renner got out but did not pull the emergency brake. He was then run over as he tried to stop the plough from hitting his nephew, resulting in more than 30 broken bones and severe trauma to the chest.
But after a stint in the intensive care unit and months of gruelling physical rehabilitation, he was able to walk the red carpet alongside Ava, his 10-year-old daughter from a previous marriage to Canadian model Sonni Pacheco, 32.
Asked why he had insisted on attending the premiere and walking the red carpet, Renner reveals that this had been one of the goals he set for himself as part of his rehabilitation.
“Everybody needs something to look forward to in life and, for me, it was about recovery. There were milestones in my recovery, from taking my next breath to taking my next step.
“So now I’m upright and walking a bit as much as I possibly can, and I wanted to do that for the show,” says the actor, who also appeared in the science-fiction drama Arrival (2016) and crime comedy American Hustle (2013).
“And I’ll be able to do this, no problem – this is easy-peasy for me now and I’m very happy about that,” he adds. “I’ll be a little swollen and sore, don’t get me wrong. But I’m happy to be here.”
Renner did not want the premiere postponed because the show is “really important” to him and its goal – to help underprivileged children – is a deeply personal one.
“I feel like I’m a big kid and I think kids are the future of our planet. But I believe they get underserved sometimes – they’re in environments where they don’t get to succeed so well, and if you give kids opportunities, a lot of great things can happen.”
Instilling resilience in children is difficult, he notes, but “certain things, like continuity and consistency, building confidence in a child – that, to me, is the definition of confidence or resilience, because it all binds together”.
Renner clearly possesses these qualities himself. Asked if he had believed all along that he would be able to walk again and attend the event, he says without hesitation: “A hundred per cent, without question.
“But I have a lot of support. There were a lot of people who kept me alive on the first of this year. And then I took it from there to continue to live, and I had a lot of support to allow my confidence, resilience, strength and will (to return). I can’t do it on my own.”
- Rennervations is streaming on Disney+.
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