‘I don’t have the energy’ for difficult roles after snowplough accident, says Jeremy Renner

The Avengers star (53) is continuing his comeback after the serious accident last year that left him with more than 30 broken bones.

The actor was injured on January 1, 2023, while trying to help his nephew, who was trying to free his car from the snow, when the plough began to roll down the hill, according to a police report.

Appearing on the Smartless podcast, the Hawkeye actor admitted he felt “very scared” about returning to acting, saying he does not have the “energy” to tackle challenging roles as he still grapples with his recovery 18 months on.

“I just don’t have the energy for it. I don’t have the fuel. I have so much fuel to put into this reality, this body, all this stuff,” Renner said.

“I can’t just go play make-believe right now. Because that takes a lot of time to get right here every day just so I can have a positive thought, so I can progress, so I can always keep growing.

“Because I’m to do, like, f**king fiction? I’m still trying to live in reality, I’m trying to live. So it was a hard line for me to cross. It was a big stretch. It was very, very challenging for me mentally to get over that hump.”

In January, Renner reprised his role as power broker Mike McLusky for the filming of the third season of the Paramount+ crime thriller Mayor of Kingstown, a year after his accident happened.

However, the Hollywood star said he is still recovering from his extensive injuries.

“I still struggle with it sometimes, like, I don’t take it super seriously. I’m in a character that I can do very well and I know the show very well, so it was easy for me to kind of slide back into it,” he said.

“But if it was a very challenging role, I couldn’t have taken it. Not challenging in the sense that – because the show’s challenging – but it’s if I had to go play [Jeffrey] Dahmer or something, something so far from me.”

Despite this, it was recently announced that Renner will join Daniel Craig in the new Knives Out film set for release in 2025.