Most of us know Jeremy Renner as a superhero in the Avengers franchise, but he turned his superhero role into reality on New Year’s Day when he saved his nephew’s life and putting his own life in danger in the process. By now, you’ve likely heard the story, but none of us have heard the story the way he’s about to describe it.
Renner recently sat down with ABC News‘ Diane Sawyer for his first interview since his snowplow accident, which occurred on the morning of January 1. While we have to wait until April 6 – a week from Thursday – to see the interview in full, they’re giving everyone a sneak peek at some of the chilling details to follow.
At one point during the interview, Sawyer listed the injuries he sustained when the snowplow overtook him – including breaking 8 ribs in 14 places, his right ankle, left leg tibia, left ankle, left clavicle, right shoulder, jaw, and mandible all broken. He also had a collapsed lung and pierced liver – and that’s just the start.
Diane Sawyer called the list of injuries ‘terrifying,’ to which Jeremy Renner replied with his initial thought after learning of his injuries. “What’s my body going to look like? Am I just going to be like a spine and a brain, like a science experiment?” He said it nonchalantly with a grin on his face, but it sounded terrifying.
At the beginning of the trailer, which was released on March 29, Sawyer asks Renner if he remembers the pain from the accident. “Oh, all of it. Yeah, I was awake through every moment,” he said. It was 8:42 in the morning when a 7-ton snowplow ran him over as he tried to stop it – completely crushing his body.
Sawyer brings up a moment where Renner used sign language to tell his family, ‘I’m sorry,’ since he couldn’t speak. He confirms the moment, but not before getting emotional and choking up as he looked away from the camera. “I chose to survive. You’re not going to kill me,” he said of his continued recovery.
She also asked him if he dreams of doing stunts again – referring to his success in action movies. “I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I’ve been refueled and refilled with love and titanium,” he says – adding that he sees a ‘lucky man’ when he looks in the mirror. An alive, lucky man at that.
Jeremy Renner Saved His Nephew’s Life – And Would Do It Again
The interview – which we can’t wait to see in full – not only tells the story of his injury and recovery but focuses on the reason he was put into that position. With the snowplow running rampant on its own, he saw it was headed right for his nephew. If he hadn’t done what he did, his nephew would’ve been killed.
“I just perfectly see him in a pool of blood coming from his head, and when I ran up to him, I didn’t think he was alive,” his nephew says in the interview. They also share the 911 call that occurred just moments later, which includes audio of a man asking for help and, in the background, Renner fighting for his life.
“I’d do it again,” Jeremy Renner says of saving his nephew’s life. Sawyer, in disbelief, repeats what he said in question form – “You’d do it again?!” Renner didn’t hesitate with his response. “Yeah, I’d do it again. Because it was going right at my nephew,” he says. Now, that’s some real uncle-nephew love.
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In the three months since the accident, Jeremy Renner has been involved in an intense recovery – one that his doctors are confident will end in a full recovery. Despite the recovery, he has kept himself busy with Season 2 of Mayor of Kingstown and his new project Rennervations, which releases on April 12.