Jeremy Renner makes red carpet return after accident for Rennervations

Jeremy Renner’s remarkable recovery story continues with his first red carpet appearance, attending the premiere of his new Disney+ unscripted series Rennervations (debuting on the streamer April 12). The Avengers star was left in critical condition after a snow plow incident, recently telling Diane Sawyer he was so close to death he wrote out a goodbye note to his family in the hospital. However, the star is now on the mend and on Tuesday walked the red carpet with the aid of a cane, at times relying on a motorized scooter to get through his press interviews, according to Variety.

“I was really adamant about them not pushing this thing while there was momentum with the brass at Disney, with us, with the timing of it in all of our lives. It just felt right,” Renner told that outlet. “I look a little beat up right now, but I promise you this show is what’s propelling me to get better and makes me want to get better every day. I set out a goal to be walking this carpet. And here I am enjoying it. Otherwise it would have gone to an abyss with no date and lost traction and excitement and I would have been very, very, very frustrated. I’m very excited right now because we’re here.”

“The show became a wonderful milestone for me to aim towards for my physical health, for me to be here to share the story, to share this journey, and it’s been quite an honor to do so,” he further told The Hollywood Reporter. During a Q&A with Jimmy Kimmel following the premiere (where he was reportedly greeted by a standing ovation), he added, “A big part of my recovery was the show, it set a big milestone for me to get better to make sure that all of our hard work was not for naught, for me running my damn self over. There’s no alternative. For me, it was easy because I had somewhere to go, somewhere to point, and I had a lot of love, man.”

Rennervations is somewhat ironically centered around the actor’s love of big vehicles. (In each episode, he and his team repurpose these vehicles to serve a charitable purpose for different communities.) That love has not diminished after being crushed by a 1,433-pound snowplow. It hasn’t even diminished his love for the snowplow itself. “My mom wants to light it on fire and have a big old party,” Renner said of the Snowcat that injured him (per Variety). “The thing’s amazing, I love the thing… I just have to learn to drive it better.”