The actor is starring in his first-ever Super Bowl ad this year.
Jeremy Renner is continuing on his healing journey. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to Renner just over a year after his near-fatal snow plow accident, and the 53-year-old actor revealed that he's feeling "strong."
"[I'm doing] probably 90 percent of all the things I needed to be doing... I think another six months will be hopefully running [more]... I got to set goals for myself. I'll do whatever I can... whatever it takes to get better, to get stronger," Renner told ET. "It's a one-way street, this recovery. The rest of my life is about health and wellness. Recovery will be part of the rest of my life, so I look forward to it, man. There's always something to do to get better, be stronger, be happier, be healthier, and that's what I look forward to."
With that in mind, Renner said, "It's hard for me to look back, to be honest with you. It's hard for me to look forward. I focus on now and this next step in front of me, 'cause there's always another obstacle for me right now."
"It's harrowing," he admitted of his recovery. "I can't believe I'm sitting here right now. I'm very grateful. I'm very happy that I'm moving forward in life, and I'm happy to share this life with the amazing people who I love."
When it comes to the idea that he's inspired people with his recovery, Renner admitted, "That's been overwhelming, to be honest. That's a lot to take."
"I'm glad I can be a barometer for somebody. I'm glad I can inspire somebody. If all I have to do is just get better, I mean, I did that for my family. My healing let their healing begin, so I guess that happened for other people as well. I never expected that my voice or my healing would speak in volumes for so many people, but I'm glad it does, man," he said. "It makes me feel righteous. It makes me feel like I can never be lazy. I can never have a bad day. I'm pretty blessed. It's a great honor."
As for if he'll return to The Avengers franchise now that he's on the mend, Renner told ET, "I'm always game. I'm gonna be strong enough, that's for sure. I'll be ready. All those guys come to my bedside and they've been with me all along through this recovery, so... if they want me, they could have me. It would be something."
Also something is the fact that Renner has landed his first ever Super Bowl commercial.
"I had a commercial career, then I got a movie star career. I never had an ad in the big game," he said. "... I'll be watching this one, and I'm so stoked, because they're sometimes the highlight of the Super Bowl. Some games aren't always the greatest, but the ads are always the greatest. It's nice to be part of that, thinking [I can] check that off the box of things I want to do in my life."
As the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers, Renner will appear in an ad for Silk, proof for him that "the world works in mysterious ways."
"All through my recovery, all I could really put down was protein shakes. [That was] the only way I could get nutrients, 'cause I had broken jaw and other gory details of that stuff. Silk almond milk was what I used every day," he explained. "They had no idea. So cut to a year later, we meet up and they just [asked if I'd] like to do a this cool story in this campaign with my daughter... They told me about the idea and I'm like, 'I love it'... It’s wonderful."
Having his daughter, Ava, appear in the ad alongside him made it all the more sweet.
"I never pushed Ava to ever want to be in the business. She's too young. I want her to be a kid... She's been on set with me a bunch of times, but this was a very technical thing for her to do. She did great, man," he said. "I'm glad that we got to do it. It is fun to do something with my daughter, so I'm not just sitting in the bleachers watching her dance or whatever the heck it is... What better way than to do this? She's got a good coach in me, so here we go. It was a great experience."
Watch the video below for more on Renner.
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