In 2023, Jeremy Renner suffered from almost 40 broken bones as a result of a snow plow accident—all while saving the life of his nephew in the process.
A story the two-time Oscar-nominee is now sharing in his new memoir, My Next Breath.
Thanks to some dedicated doctors and nurses, his friends and family, not to mention pain medications, the MCU star has thankfully made a full recovery.
Pain medications are known for having potential side effects, and those prescribed to Renner were no exception—though they weren't exactly the kind of side effects Renner expected.
During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, during which rapper and singer Jelly Roll was serving as a guest host, Renner shared that his pain meds resulted in some rather strange hallucinations.
One involved a snow-related vehicle, but rather unexpectedly also included Jamie Foxx.
During his time in the hospital, Renner admitted that he was not the easiest patient to deal with; as Jelly Roll pointed out, he declared himself to be the "worst patient ever" in the book:
"...that's because I kept wanting to break out of the hospital."
"So these poor nurses, you can imagine, I'm kind of high on whatever they're feeding me."
"I got tubes and epidurals and nine things stuck in me - I'm dragging the machines in the bed. I'm walking on broken legs."
"I never even made it to the door but once, but they handcuffed me to the bed because I was such a pain in the butt."
Both Renner and Jelly Roll could share a laugh at the idea of being handcuffed and unable to escape, as the multiple CMT award-winning singer spent several of his early years in prison before his music career took off.
Another element of Renner's memoir that Jelly Roll found intriguing was that he was so high on his prescribed pain medications that he found himself having a conversation with a curtain.
"Yeah, yeah, that was at home, and ... yeah."
"You know, as one might do, that's when you know you're not feeling any pain."
Renner admitted that a curtain was only the first of many conversations he had with household objects, but one of his hallucinations went a step further.
One of the "objects" Renner found himself chatting with was none other than Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx.
"I was talking to objects and Jamie Foxx."
"You guys know Jamie Foxx."
"He was there in my room."
"Jamie Foxx was there; he was in my room, then we got up and we went snowmobiling."
"All that happened in my mind."
"It didn't happen."
"It's good drugs - good drugs."
Highly amused by Renner's anecdote, Jelly Roll did find the courage to admit that he had been high on pain medications several times, but never high enough to ever converse with a curtain.
The singer did admit he once "took enough acid" to speak with a curtain.
Joking aside, though, Jelly Roll admitted that he was "crying like a baby" reading Renner's memoir.
Viewers of the interview on YouTube were equally moved by Renner's recovery, not to mention his repartee with Kimmel's guest host:
"Jelly Roll is absolutely right. Jeremy really is a medical miracle. He’s a fighter, and he had a lot of support from his family to his fans. I’m glad he’s doing so much better, and I think that summer camp sounds like a cool opportunity."- @nintenmetro/YouTube
"The fact Jeremy Renner can walk out onto that stage on his own is a miracle! Unless you knew his story you wouldn't know he was crushed nearly to death! True miracle and inspiration."- @dharmawannab/YouTube
"To recover from his injuries takes a lot of inner strength. I'm a nurse and used to work on a trauma unit."- @suzanjurist2339/YouTube
"Seeing Jeremy smile like that, seeing him show so much love and pride for his family, and his love for less fortunate people brings a calmness and hope to my life. I don't have a lot myself so seeing good in this decade is wonderful."- @Kenzie_Hill/YouTube
"Glad it was Jelly Roll doing this interview. This was epic. Love Jeremy Renner."- @hdjmiller/YouTube
"He is really different now, giving back, so happy , and so grateful. Congrats."- @IrelandM1999/YouTube
"Jeremy is a real life Super Hero - gods blessings on him and hìs always."- @j.taires5889/YouTube
"Remarkable men in their own rights. When you have a beautiful heart, it simply shows, even subtly when one pays attention."- @Tales-From-The-Gold-Coast/YouTube
"AttaBoy, J. Roll~ Good show. Jeremy Renner is an absolute miracle! God bless them both."- @SecondHandSmile/YouTube
"Jeremy, I have a friend that was in a car wreck, hit from the side. There was not strong enough pain meds to stop the pain, for 10 years. He has endured 30 surgeries in that time. It takes 1 year to get over the anesthetic and brain fog. I have stepped in to help whatever I can. I saw him in so much pain that he could only come out of his den to talk twice a day and only a couple hours. Today he is much better, but will always have to deal with the brain injury, there are online zoom groups in many states that are wonderful support and education. He is no longer in massive pain and has reduced the meds that he has to take from 28 pills a day to just a couple, which will be for life. Now has recovered from the last surgery anesthetic and has been able to start being more active and clear headed. Wish you the best in your recovery."- @CamObserver
Interestingly, only a few months after Renner's snow plow accident, Jamie Foxx found his own life in jeopardy as well, suffering a brain bleed which eventually led to a stroke, leading the actor and singer to be hospitalized for over a month.
While it's unclear if Foxx was prescribed the same medications Renner was, one can't help but wonder if maybe their impromptu jaunt on snow mobiles may have been a ... communal hallucination?
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