Sometimes, life throws us moments so intense they completely reshape how we see everything.
That’s exactly what happened to Jeremy Renner after his terrifying snowplow accident on New Year’s Day 2023.
The Marvel star recently opened up about the surreal experience of almost dying and what it felt like to come back from the edge.
A Glimpse of Peace Beyond This World
Renner was outside his Lake Tahoe home when a 14,000-pound snowcat ran over him while he was trying to save his nephew.
In his new memoir, My Next Breath, the actor describes what he calls an “electric serenity” during the moments he was clinically dead.
The feeling was one of pure peace and calm—something so powerful it made death feel less scary.
In a recent interview on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, Jeremy got candid about his emotions after returning to life.
Surprisingly, he said his first reaction was not relief or joy, but frustration.
Feeling ‘Pissed Off’ to Be Brought Back
“It’s a great relief, that’s all I can say,” Renner explained about the afterlife experience.
He described it as the most peaceful, magical sensation mixed with an adrenaline rush unlike anything else.
But coming back to the physical world didn’t feel so great. “I didn’t want to come back,” he admitted.
“When they revived me, I was so pissed off. I was like, ‘Aww!’”
Although he was only unconscious for a few minutes, those moments gave him a whole new outlook on life, and especially on death.
He said time and language didn’t exist in that place — it was all-knowing and beyond human understanding.
A Wake-Up Call to Live Life on His Own Terms
The experience served as a wake-up call, cutting through all the distractions of life.
“It made me, a man who didn’t want to come back, really appreciate being here now and live on my terms,” Jeremy shared.
“I’m the captain of my own ship. I get on or off it — I don’t give a f—.”
This near-death brush also changed where he puts his value.
Instead of stressing over money or material things, Renner focuses on love and meaningful relationships.
“That’s the only thing you take with you,” he said plainly.
What Led to the Accident
In his memoir, Jeremy revealed a small but crucial mistake that led to the accident.
He didn’t engage the parking brake or disengage the snowcat’s steel tracks before leaving the driver’s cab to help his nephew.
Suddenly, his feet slipped, and he lost control, flying off the tracks and hitting the icy ground hard. The snowcat then tragically rolled over him, causing terrible injuries including 38 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and a punctured liver.
Recovery and Return to Work
Thankfully, his nephew was there to help until emergency services arrived.
Jeremy was airlifted to the hospital and spent over two weeks recovering, undergoing multiple surgeries.
Despite everything, he has bounced back and recently returned to filming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, showing incredible resilience after such a life-altering event.