Jeremy Renner graces the July/August cover of Men’s Health magazine, where he opened up about the overwhelming support he received from his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars following his near-death snow plow accident at the start of 2023. For instance, Falcon actor Anthony Mackie visited Renner in the hospital just days after the accident even though Renner was still on life support and could only see out of his right eye. Iron Man icon Robert Downey Jr. would connect with Renner over FaceTime constantly when he was in the hospital.
“Oh, fuck yeah, it’s a real thing — it’s not just for Instagram. We fuckin’ hate that shit,” Renner said about the love that exists between the Avengers actors. “We have a family chat and have for a long time. When you work with people — look, we all went through a culturally significant experience together. And there’s divorces and marriages and babies; a lot of stuff happened in these 12 years.”
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“In the films, we look like we’re at a costume party, and there’s ridiculous props and we’re doing these ridiculous things, but it’s also beautiful because we’re all connected,” Renner added. “There’s a brotherhood or sisterhood or whatever the heck you want to call it. I just call it love. I love every one of them. I’d rather go to jail with Downey than go do something amazing by myself. I’d rather get in a car crash with Evans.”
Thor actor Chris HemsworthtoldGQ UKearlier this year that the Avengers group chat was extremely active in the days after Renner’s accident. Renner was hospitalized with blunt chest trauma and over 30 broken bones after his snow plow ran him over.
“We were all on our‘Avengers’text chain, we were all chatting. And it was wild,” Hemsworth said about the immediate aftermath of the accident. “None of us really knew how serious it was. I think anything like that, it’s an immediate realization of ‘Wow, any of us can go at any minute…’ We’re getting to the age now where we’re going to start losing people we love.”
Many of Renner’s Marvel co-starsused social mediato send him prayers and messages of support after the accident, while the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and “Ant-Man” star Evangeline Lillyvisited Renner at his homeduring his recovery.
“I was honestly so fucking happy to see him. I didn’t know if I was ever going to see him again,” Johanssonrecently toldPvNewabout visiting Renner. “To not only see him again but to see him thriving and in such an amazing space, mentally. He’s a very spiritual person in general and a very soulful person. And you can see that in his work. It comes through. He has such a depth to him. And I just was so happy to see that he is full of life and light, and he’s also hilarious. We laughed a lot.”
once Renner returned home for his recovery, Johansson said the “Avengers” group text started piling on him with jokes, adding: “On the ‘Avengers’ text chain, we’re like, ‘Ok, you beat us all. That’s it. You won.’ That’s like real superhero stuff. It’s unbelievable.”
Robert Downey Jr. spoke to Vanity Fair earlier this year and praised Renner’s recovery, saying Chris Evans’ wedding was one of the first public outings where the Avengers cast got to celebrate with Renner.
“If there’s one characteristic we’d all agree is paramount, it’s resilience,” Downey said. “To see Renner embody that literally, and in the context of what was basically a Portuguese American wedding, was mind-blowing. Fully recovered and ready to celebrate. So, yes—miracles happen.”
Head over to Men‘s Health’s website to read Renner’s cover story in its entirety.
