Jeremy Renner opens up about his recovery from ‘taking my next breath to taking my next step’

Actor Jeremy Renner‘s life in recent months is an example of how unexpected tragedies can lead to a remarkable testimony. 

As previously reported, on January 1, the 52-year-old was severely injured after being run over by his snow plow, which weighs about 6.5 tons, while trying to save his nephew. The event left Renner with extensive injuries, including over 30 broken bones and a shattered leg. 

Since then, Renner has undergone many surgeries to repair the damage and has returned home. Recently, the Marvel alum has made headlines again, this time for his first red carpet appearance alongside his family after the accident for his new Disney Channel series Rennervations.

The show follows Renner and his friends as they build community spaces for children from large vehicles. During an interview with Extra, Renner opened up about why it was significant for him to attend the Rennervations premiere while still healing from his accident. He told the news outlet that going to the event was a recovery goal he set for himself. Renner said, 

“It was part of a goal to set for my recovery. There’s milestones in my recovery, from taking my next breath to taking my next step. Now I am upright and walking a bit, as much as I possibly can, and I wanted to do that for the show. I didn’t want to postpone… The show is really important. It’s a lot of fun, it has gotten me to where I am at in my recovery because it means a lot to me and I needed a goal to set for myself.”

Toward the end of the conversation, Renner spoke about how his family’s support during his accident gave him the sheer will to live. The Mayor of Kingstown star mentioned in addition to the support, the overall lesson he’s learned in life is that one can’t overcome situations or be a helping hand to others alone.

“I had a lot of support. There is a lot of people who kept me alive and not die on the first of this year… I took it from there to then continue to live. My confidence, resilience, and strength, and will… We all need it, can’t do it on my own… It’s more fun when you do things with people you care about, like this show, being here with my family, and my daughter experiencing the good and bad things in life. Rather do that with people you care about than alone.”

Rennervations is now streaming on Disney+.