Jeremy Renner says his “number one” inspiration for recovery following his snowplough accident is his daughter.
The 52-year-old actor suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries after being crushed by a snowcat on New Year’s Day at his home in the Reno area of Nevada and returned home from the hospital a few weeks later.
He made his first public appearance at the premiere of his Disney+ series “Rennervations” aided with a cane, after which he reflected that his 10-year-old daughter Ava is his main motivation following the ordeal.
Watch video:
Renner – who has Ava with ex-wife Sonni Pacheco – told E! News: “My daughter, for sure, number one. And then my family, and then my will. It’s like, well, if I was going to go, I guess, it’s one or the other.
“There’s no alternative to like, ‘Alright, I’m going to be living so, let’s go really live and get it done.’ So there’s no alternative. I have to kind of do something.”
The “Avengers” star – who was trying to save his nephew as the snowplough headed for him – has been undergoing rehabilitation therapy in the months since the incident and has been able to get back on his feet, even noting that stepping back into the real world was “intense” but a “step in the right direction”.
He told PEOPLE: “It’s [the] first time to kind of get out of my bed and out of rehab and, you know, to be on my feet and be out in the world. It’s intense, you know, for me, it’s a lot, but it’s a step in the direction I want to be going, right?
“And this is exactly what I want to be doing and exactly where I want my life to be right now.”
