Jeremy Renner's Daughter Ava, 11, Had to 'Take Care of' Actor After He Almost Died During 2023 Snowplow Accident: 'I Became the Kid'
Jeremy Renner might play a superhero on TV — but it's his daughter who truly saved his life.
In a new interview with Parents, the Hawkeye star opened up about how his not-so-little girl, Ava, 11, helped him recover from life-threatening injuries the award-winning actor faced after getting run over by his snowplow during an almost-fatal accident in 2023.
"If I didn’t have my daughter, Ava, I don’t know who I would be — probably somebody I don’t like," Jeremy, 53, admitted of his only child — whom he shares with his ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco, 36. "She's my sunrise, my sunset, my North Star."
The Avenger's star's confidence in Ava was proved true in the moments following his near-death experience in January 2023, when he was completely "crushed" by his Snowcat on New Year's Day, leaving him in the ICU with "30 plus" broken bones.
"I became the kid for the first six months; my daughter had to take care of me, and there was something quite beautiful in that role reversal. She had to grow up in a lot of ways," Jeremy recalled of his tween. "I overcame a lot of obstacles and got to show my daughter what resilience means by going through this journey with me."
Reflecting on everything he and Ava have been through throughout the past few years, Jeremy said, "I really understand my place as her father."
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
"It is my duty to teach her how to love, how to be strong, how to overcome," he expressed. "Leading by example has always been important to me. That’s only amplified. My love is deeper, my conversations with my daughter are more adult."
"I now struggle to find the fun, goofy dad version that I was when she was 4 or 8," the Marvel star continued. "I have a harder time with that because I’ve been through some physical struggles. I just struggle to find the energy to be the jungle gym dad. But she’s 11. Maybe I don’t need to."
Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!
As he approaches the two-year mark since his near-fatal accident, Jeremy declared, "I don’t have a bad day anymore."
"I got pushed to the limits of life and [almost] to my death, and so I find solace in my next breath and my next step," the Mayor of Kingstown star shared. "I have a lot of support, and I nurture and work on the relationships I have to garner that kind of support in life. As any parent knows, it takes a village. I think it’s very important to build one."
"You’re going to need many, many people — a cool uncle, a strong aunt — so that your kids have other voices in their lives that will be important to them and their perspectives. You can’t do it all for your kids 100 percent of the time. As much as we want to, we can't," Jeremy concluded.