Interview: Jeremy Renner on returning post-accident for Mayor of Kingstown & the challenge of playing Hawkeye again

This week, Mayor of Kingstown returns to Paramount Plus for its third season. As a devoted fan, I’m thrilled to see one of Taylor Sheridan’s more underrated shows continue, but of course, its return is noteworthy for other reasons, too. Shortly before the debut of season two, star Jeremy Renner had a terrible accident that left him with thirty broken bones when he was run over by a 14,000-pound snowcat. Yet, about a year later, Renner was already back on set reprising his role as Mike McClusky and, in the lead-up to the premiere, Renner sat down with us to describe his recovery (watch the video embedded above)

One of the nicest things about Renner is how real he’s always been, and in our interview, he got very honest about the physical and mental challenges he faced upon his return to acting. While I told him that, in my opinion, he hadn’t missed a step, he acknowledged the fact that he had a very hard time in those early episodes but kept moving forward. If anything, the fact that he acknowledges his limitations makes him even more of an aspirational figure, with him having overcome the odds to make his return in a way that I think will inspire people. 

Notably, he also told us that he’d be down to return as Hawkeye in the MCU, even saying that the notion of returning to play the role is a good target for him in his ongoing physical rehabilitation. 

“That’s always in my mind too. Getting asked back to do those things would always be an honour. I’m always willing to get ready. I think I need something to look forward to, or something to try and achieve…keeps me going in my progress. Stuff like that, ‘oh, can I ever get back to that kind of shape’ to be able to be that flexible with all these busted-old hips and things? Yeah, I think it would be a good challenge, and I’m up for it.”

Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 debuts on Paramount Plus on June 2nd.