By Nicolas Ayala | Screen Rant
Jeremy Renner isn’t just a superhero on screen — he’s proven to be one in real life. The “Hawkeye” star’s harrowing experience of being run over by a 14,300-pound snowplow on New Year’s Eve 2023 could have ended his life. Instead, it became a testament to his unyielding strength, willpower, and the kind of resilience that only heroes (comic or not) possess. With the release of his memoir My Next Breath, Renner opens up about the trauma, recovery, and emotional journey that has redefined not only his body but his entire outlook on life.
Jeremy Renner’s near-death moment was as surreal as it was profound
In a scene almost too wild to believe — and yet utterly real — Renner found himself underneath a snowcat plow, immobilized on a frozen driveway in Reno, Nevada. He had intervened to save his nephew, stepping in front of the machine to prevent a worse accident. The actor later revealed he believes he actually died that day. “I know I died — in fact, I’m sure of it,” Renner writes in his memoir, describing a near-otherworldly experience as he floated beyond consciousness.
“I could see my lifetime. I could see everything all at once,” he recalled. “In death there was no time, no time at all, yet it was also all time and forever.” The description — equal parts cosmic and intimate — echoes the emotional peak of a hero’s journey. But instead of a fictional climax, this was Renner’s real-life brush with the void. And something — or someone — told him not to let go.
The actor’s battle for survival was marked by excruciating pain and unshakable focus
For 45 agonizing minutes, Renner lay on the ice, broken and bleeding, waiting for first responders. He later learned his heart rate had plummeted to 18 beats per minute — a level where survival is far from certain. Yet, even in that moment, Renner’s mind sharpened. “Your body is lit up and you’re drowning, you’re on fire, and being struck by lightning all at once,” he said during a recent interview on CBS Mornings. “I wasn’t going to breathe, it didn’t matter… I’ll worry about that later. You gotta breathe first.”
That simple but powerful mantra — “Keep breathing. It works.” — became his lifeline. It’s a moment of clarity born from chaos, and it perfectly encapsulates Renner’s approach not only to survival but to life itself. When asked why he eventually chose to share this deeply personal ordeal, he said, “Getting out of your own way is important to achieving, getting anything you want in your life. It was silly of me not to share it.”
Getting back on the snowplow was a fearless act of closure and defiance
Perhaps the most cinematic — and emotionally resonant — moment of Renner’s post-accident story is when he climbed back onto the very snowplow that nearly killed him. Returning to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his book, Renner explained that he deliberately faced the “eye of the storm” because he refused to let fear control him. “I didn’t want this thing to haunt me or own me by any means,” he said.
Driving the snowplow again wasn’t scary. In fact, Renner described it as “like a tank.” The real moment hit when he had to step off — and saw remnants of his clothing still tangled in the tracks. But instead of trembling, he taunted the situation with a wink: “Ha, I made it. You can’t beat me.” He likened the experience to breaking up with an ex and realizing they’re not that attractive after all. It was closure. It was victory. It was Renner being Renner — gritty, real, and unbroken.
Renner’s recovery may be lifelong, but his outlook is stronger than ever
Broken doesn’t mean defeated. With over 35 broken bones, a jaw shattered in three places, and permanent injuries that will shadow him for the rest of his life, Renner hasn’t just accepted his new reality — he’s embraced it. “There’ll be nothing normal or as it was prior to the accident,” he admitted. “By the way, I’m okay with that. It’s making my life better. I’m healthier because of it.”
His 9-year-old daughter Ava became his anchor, his motivation, and his reason to keep pushing forward. In the memoir, he shares a letter she wrote about her proudest moment: seeing her dad drive again. “She was my fuel to get better,” Renner said. “She gets better if I get better. All I have to do is get better for her.”
Jeremy Renner’s story is a superhero origin — minus the cape, but with all the heart
What makes Renner’s tale so powerful isn’t the gore, the trauma, or the near-miracle of survival. It’s the way he turns it all into something meaningful. Into something hopeful. Into a story about the human spirit’s capacity to heal, adapt, and jujitsu-throw fear into the dirt. He doesn’t hide from the darkness; he writes through it. He doesn’t let it haunt him; he gets back on the snowplow.
For a man whose career has been defined by gritty, determined characters like Hawkeye and William Bishop, Jeremy Renner has now given us his most authentic role yet — and it’s nothing short of legendary.