Jeremy Renner says he briefly died after his devastating snowplow accident—and he remembers it as a moment of “exhilarating peace.”
The Marvel actor, 54, opened up in his memoir My Next Breath and a new podcast interview about what he believes was a near-death experience after being crushed by his 14,000-pound snowplow on New Year’s Day in 2023.
The accident happened while Renner tried to save his nephew from harm. He suffered more than 30 broken bones and lay in the snow for nearly half an hour waiting for emergency help near his home in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In his book, Renner wrote that he “died” on his driveway, describing the moment he felt his heart slowing down after manually breathing for too long.
“That’s when I died. I died, right there on the driveway,” he said.
On Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, Renner described the feeling as “a wonderful, wonderful relief.”
“It is the most exhilarating peace you could ever feel,” he said. “You’re the atoms of who you are, the DNA, your spirit… It’s so magical.”
Renner admitted he was angry when he realized he had come back.
“I saw my eyeball and thought, ‘Oh sh*t, I’m back,’” he said. “Saw my legs and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s gonna hurt later.’”
Despite not wanting to return, Renner said he eventually felt a powerful urge not to let go. He now sees his survival as a “glory moment” and a reason to celebrate life.
“I didn’t f*ing die,”** he wrote. “So, the celebration of New Year becomes a recognition of the depth of the love in our family.”
Doctors once feared Renner would never walk again. Now, he’s back on his feet—grateful to be alive, even if he felt peace in death.
