Jeremy Renner on Snowplow Crash: Why He ‘Didn’t Want to Come Back
Plot twist: Jeremy Renner, Hollywood’s favorite bow-and-arrow Avenger, almost got flattened by his own backyard snowplow—because apparently fate enjoys a sick punchline. On SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa, the 54-year-old actor peeled back the curtain on his January 2023 near-fatal mishap at his Reno, Nevada, home, where a seven-ton machine left him crumpled and gasping in the snow. He broke dozens of bones, spent 45 excruciating minutes awaiting rescue, and then discovered the real horror show wasn’t the crash but coming back to life.
Renner admitted on-air that when medics jolted him back, he was “so pissed off” he’d have gladly stayed in that otherworldly calm. “You don’t see anything but what’s in your mind’s eye,” he told Ripa, recalling the “highest adrenaline rush” married with “exhilarating peace.” He even described that jarring moment when he “saw the eyeball again” and immediately thought, “Oh, s—, I’m back,” before realizing his legs had transformed into medieval torture devices. In the chaos, he focused on each breath—a coping mechanism he immortalized in his memoir My Next Breath—naming the book for the one act that literally kept him alive.
Apparently, near-death has a way of rearranging priorities. Renner confessed he slipped into a non-linear plane where time and small talk evaporated. When Ripa probed whether he’d met anyone on the other side, he shrugged it off as “not linear,” proving that near-death confessions can be as cryptic as they are dramatic. After staring at his own eyeball in the snow and groaning through broken limbs, he vowed to ditch “white noise” and hollow obligations. “I’m the captain of my own ship,” he declared, promising to “invest in love and shared relationships” instead of chasing empty premieres.
This latest Hollywood misadventure reminds us that misery loves company—and box office stars aren’t immune to existential reckoning. Expect Renner back on screens soon, gaunt but resolute, hawking his next blockbuster with newfound gravitas. But don’t be surprised when every hero narrative now includes a dark side of “almost never coming home.” Bookmark this for the inevitable post-recovery backlash or sequel reveal—because if Hollywood’s taught us anything, it’s that tragedy is just another plot device. Anyway, who’s shocked? Let’s all act startled when the next disaster hits.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa, NBC via Getty
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
