Actor Jeremy Renner recently shared the harrowing account of his accident involving a snow plow in January 2023, a traumatic event that resulted in more than 38 broken bones and a profound transformation in his outlook on life.

The terrifying incident unfolded on New Year's Day near Renner's residence in Reno, Nevada, where he was assisting his nephew in snow clearance. Stepping down from the cab of his massive PistenBully snow groomer, weighing a staggering 14,000 pounds, Renner faced an abrupt and perilous situation. In a split-second decision, he attempted to leap back into the cab to halt the machine's motion. Tragically, his foot became ensnared in the colossal treads, akin to those of a tank, dragging him beneath its crushing weight.

In a candid interview with Men's Health published recently, Renner vividly recalled the excruciating details of the accident. "I remember every undulation. I remember my head cracking on the thing and it just pressing on me — it’s exactly like you think it would feel. An immovable object and a crushing force, and something’s gotta give. But thank God my skull didn’t fully give," he recounted. The machine continued its relentless path, inflicting severe injuries with each passing moment. "Undulate, undulate, undulate, undulate. Cheekbone broke, eye socket broke, and then from the crushing of getting run over by the machine, my eye bulged out. I could see my left eyeball with my right eyeball," he added, describing the horrifying intensity of the experience.

Amidst the chaos and excruciating pain, Renner fought valiantly for breath. "I was screaming for a breath. I needed to shove all my energy of air out just so I could suck air back in," he said. With 14 broken ribs and a collapsed lung, every breath was an arduous struggle. "There was no breathing happening. It was a muscle I had to use to press, and it’s hard to use your stomach muscles when you have 14 broken ribs and a popped lung," he recounted with grim honesty.

Despite the severity of his injuries, Renner's resilience and determination were evident as he recounted the moments following the accident when neighbors discovered him and called for emergency assistance. "My ribs are jabbing me and poking my lung. Mind you, my leg was twisted up like a pretzel — didn’t feel that s---! I’m thinking, ‘Ooo, s---, that’s gonna hurt later. Ooo, that’s my eyeball — that’s kinda weird!’ I’m like, ‘S---, I wonder if this breathing trouble is just a cramp. Let me just get this breathing right, and then I can go tell the family we’re not going skiing today,’" he recalled with characteristic frankness.

As Renner's condition deteriorated, he experienced a profound sense of fatigue, his heart rate plummeting. "My heart rate’s going lower, lower, lower. ‘Huooohohh, huooohohh,’ just this exhaustive breathing for 45 minutes. But with the exhaustion there was almost peace," he reflected, recalling the surreal moments before the arrival of emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

Upon regaining consciousness in the intensive care unit after being airlifted to the hospital, Renner was surrounded by his loving family. The emotional intensity of those initial moments of awareness prompted him to scribble a message despite being fully intubated. "I said give me a pencil — I was fully intubated, got the giant hose in me — I wrote, ‘Holy f---. I’m so sorry. I love you all so much.’ Seemed like a weird thing to say, but that was the driving energy of me waking in the first place, brother," he shared, emphasizing the overwhelming gratitude he felt.

Renner, the eldest of seven siblings from a deeply supportive family, underscored his instinctive need to protect his nephew during the accident. "I’m not letting anybody get hurt on my watch. That’s why I put my f---ing own life on the line for my nephew. I’m not gonna let that thing f---ing crush him!" he asserted passionately. Reflecting on the alternative scenario, Renner acknowledged the haunting possibility of not taking action: "If it was the other way around, if I didn’t get back on that thing and then it crushed him ... I would not be a good man right now ... I’d be f---ing haunted."

Known for his roles in iconic franchises like "The Avengers" and "Mission: Impossible," Renner admitted to underestimating the severity of his injuries. "I figured, 'No problem, I got this, I’ll just dive across these tracks, shut off a button, piece of cake!'" he quipped, revealing his initial nonchalance prior to the accident.

Since the traumatic event, Renner has embarked on an arduous path of recovery, undergoing intensive physical therapy and innovative treatments such as red light therapy and hyperbaric chamber therapy. Despite the challenges, he returned to work on season three of the Paramount Plus series "Mayor of Kingstown," where he portrays Mike McLusky. Reflecting on the demanding shoot, Renner acknowledged the difficulties he faced: "We were walking around on ice, and I have no energy. I was falling asleep. But I think it’ll be the best season yet because of it."

The accident profoundly altered Renner's perspective on life and work. "The last thing I wanted to do — to be honest with you, I almost pulled shoot and doing this show — was fiction ... I gotta live in real reality here, because these bones and these joints — and I gotta go say fake lines and fake words and pretend to be . . . what?" he pondered aloud, grappling with the surreal nature of returning to acting amidst physical and emotional turmoil. "Here’s how I shifted it, because I only have control of my perspective: I’m coming to Pittsburgh to recover in my body and get better every f---ing day, and I’m gonna do this show on the side. Instead of it being the other way around."

Renner also spoke candidly about the profound impact of receiving overwhelming love and support from family, friends, and strangers alike. "There’s a lot of people that love me. And I had no idea. I had to learn how to receive all this love, and it’s not easy. From people you don’t even know, even. Why is this accident such a thing? But then I said, 'F---, stop asking why. Just receive it,'" he shared, reflecting on the unexpected outpouring of compassion and solidarity he encountered.

Renner concluded with a poignant reflection on resilience and transformation: "I was famous for having a bow and arrow; now I’m famous for overcoming something as a man." His journey from adversity to recovery serves as a testament to the indomitable spirit and the profound impact of perspective in navigating life's most formidable challenges.