We’re lucky to still have Jeremy Renner with us. In 2023, he was nearly killed in a snowplow incident, caught beneath a 14,000 lb machine on his Lake Tahoe property – and somehow, he managed to pull through. These years later, after a considerable recovery, he’s back in action, returning in front of the screen with a renewed focus. And that includes literal action – as Renner tells Empire in a major new interview, he’s still prepared to grab that bow and arrow and throw himself into the MCU fray once again.
“I’m always happy to be in that world, man,” he says of the MCU. “I love all those guys, I love the character.” That could even mean a second run of Hawkeye, his headline Disney+ streaming series that teamed his sharp-shooting Clint Barton with Hailee Steinfeld’s young Kate Bishop. “I’m sure we’ll end up doing Season 2, and do other things. And I’m happy to do it,” he says. “My body’s getting ready for something like that. I don’t know if anybody wants to see me in tights, but my body will look good in the tights.”
While Hawkeye was always a physically demanding role, Renner says that he’s at a point now where he could pull off that signature move from The Avengers, leaping into the air, twisting around, and firing an arrow all in one motion. “Absolutely. No problem,” he says. “That’s where I’m at. I’m more than 150 per cent of what I was prior to the incident.” Where he says he used to only take on a fitness routine in the run-up to playing a role, he’s now embraced it as a part of his everyday existence. “Having health and wellness be such a central part of my life, that’s what’s gotten me back,” he explains. “And even as I age, I just feel stronger than I’ve been. I have some issues, and tendon issues and certain limitations of flexibility and mobility, but I spent a lot of time on getting better and stronger, and I wouldn’t if I didn’t get crushed.” Someone call Pizza Dog.
Read Empire’s full Jeremy Renner interview in the Avatar: Fire And Ash issue, on sale Thursday 31 July. Pre-order a copy online here. My Next Breath is available now in hardback, on Kindle, and audiobook.