By Helen BushbyCultural journalist
Getty ImagesMarvel actor Jeremy Renner said knowing he had “a lot to fight for” helped him survive the aftermath of a snowplow accident a year ago .
Renner, 52, was in critical condition after breaking more than 30 bones after being accidentally run over by his own snow plow on New Year's Day 2022.
He told CNN: “I'm so lucky to have so much to live for, I have a giant family, a 10 year old daughter.”
The only option he gave himself was to “improve.”
“I would have disappointed and ruined a lot of people's lives if I had succeeded,” said the actor, who plays Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I'm also quite stubborn, I have a lot to stand for and recovery was just a one-way street in my mind and my recovery.”
Renner/InstagramThe accident occurred after a New Year's storm hit the United Statesdumping heavy snowfall in several states.
Renner used his snowplow to rescue his nephew who was driving a car but got stuck in the snow near his house.
He managed to tow the car, but when he got out, the plow started moving unattended, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said at the time.
Renner was trying to get back into the driver's seat to stop him from moving when the “extremely large” piece of equipment knocked him over, Balaam said.
Getty ImagesThe actor was flown to a hospital in Reno, Nevada, and spent some time in an intensive care unit.
He told CNN of his “poor nephew's” trauma of being run over, saying: “I gave him, you know, images that he can never unsee.”
But he added: “I know that my recovery would be a healing for him,” as well as for other loved ones affected by the accident, like his daughter.
He said he “never thought about my own physical ailments, my own pain or my own anguish – so the one-way road to recovery was like a mental attitude.
“And that attitude was always to get better. And there's no choice but that.”
On his Instagram Stories, Renner shared an image of himself hugging his nephew after speaking to CNN, and wrote: “Post-interview love from my sweet nephew who helped save my life.”
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Renner also recently returned to the hospital that treated him to thank the staff.
“Stopping to see kids/superheroes, first responders, doctors, nurses and staff at Renown Hospital,” he posted on social media.
“I honor you and celebrate the love, life and blessings it brings to us all. Thank you and this community for keeping me here. I am forever in your debt of gratitude.”
The actor is probably best known for his role in Marvel films, but he also starred in the 2008 film The Hurt Locker – for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination – as well as Wind River, American Hustle and Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol. .
Renner was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2010 film The Town.
He also stars in the Paramount+ series The Mayor Of Kingstown and told CNN that he now feels ready to return to filming the third season.
“I think I’m pretty strong,” he said. ” We will see. I mean, I'm literally going back in a week. But I'll do my best, I'll do my best.”