Jeremy Renner admits lack of energy for demanding roles post-accident

Jeremy Renner reveals he doesn't have the energy for demanding roles as he recovers from a severe snow plow accident.

Jeremy Renner recently revealed in an interview on the “SmartLess” podcast that he lacks the energy and mental capacity to take on demanding acting roles as he continues to recover from his severe snow plow accident. Renner, who was hospitalized in January 2023 for blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries after being run over by his 14,000-pound Sno-Cat, shared his struggles with hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes.

“I just don’t have the energy for it. I don’t have the fuel,” Renner said, explaining the extensive effort he needs to put into his daily recovery. “I have so much fuel to put into this reality, this body, all this stuff. 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.”

Renner returned to acting in January this year for the third season of “Mayor of Kingstown,” but admitted he was “very terrified” about getting back to work. “Because I’m to do, like, fucking fiction? I’m still trying to live in reality, I’m trying to live. So it was a hard line for me to cross,” he said. “It was a big stretch. It was very, very challenging for me mentally to get over that hump.”

Renner mentioned that while he could manage his role as Mike McLusky in “Mayor of Kingstown” due to his familiarity with the character, taking on a more challenging role would have been impossible at this stage. “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 Dahmer or something, something so far from me.”

Renner is set to star in Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” his first film since the accident. The movie features a star-studded cast including Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, Josh O’Connor, Cailee Spaeny, and Daniel Craig, who will reprise his role as detective Benoit Blanc.