Jeremy Renner: Robert Downey Jr. Supported Me After Snowmobile Accident ‘Like We Were Dating’

Christian Zilko
·2 min read
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It’s been a great month for Robert Downey Jr., who won his first Oscar for his performance as Lewis Strauss in “Oppenheimer” as Christopher Nolan’s historical blockbuster cleaned up at the Academy Awards. But even as Downey’s career reaches new heights, he hasn’t stopped making time for his Hollywood friends who need him.

In a new interview with People, Jeremy Renner opened up about the support he received from Downey as he recovered from the snowmobile accident that nearly killed him last New Year’s Day. Renner said that his Marvel co-star was a frequent presence in his life and used his sense of humor to coach Renner through a long treatment process.

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“He’s like, ‘Dude, the most important thing is you look good. I don’t care how you feel, as long as you look good that’s all that matters,’” Renner said of Downey. “We ended up having really great chats on FaceTime, like we were dating or something.”

Renner added that Downey is a fan of his Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown,” which aired two seasons before Renner was sidelined by his injuries. He recalled Downey joking that he needed Renner to recover so that the series didn’t end on a cliffhanger.

“He’s like, ‘You’ve got to get back to do ‘Mayor,’ because we need to see what happens,'” Renner said. “His ways are very heartwarming.”

Downey’s wish for more “Kingstown” was eventually granted, as Renner was able to return to the Taylor Sheridan-created show after a year of recuperation. Season 3 began production in January, with Renner saying that he pushed himself to be ready for the shoot as a tribute to his fans.

“Day one on set … nervous today,” Renner wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday, January 10. “Hope this works out that I can ACTUALLY pull this off for our production and more importantly the fans.”

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