Mayor of Kingstown star Jeremy Renner jokes he was 'treated like a child' when he came back to work. In a recent interview, the actor opened up about what it was like to return to set after his near-fatal snowplow accident in January 2023.
Though Renner is in much better shape as the season 3 premiere draws close, there were plenty of obstacles along the way – one of them being the new on-set dynamic with his Kingstown co-stars.
Jeremy Renner Felt Like a '14-Year-Old' on Mayor of Kingstown Set
Mayor of Kingstown season 3 is set to arrive on Paramount+ on 2 June, focussing on Renner's Mike McLusky, who is determined to end the violence tearing his town apart once and for all. However, as the 53-year-old actor admitted, filming was often a bumpy ride.
On his first week filming in Pittsburgh, Renner admits he would sometimes end up falling asleep in the middle of a scene. It turns out the MCU actor couldn't handle jet lag like he used to before the accident.
"They go, 'And action!' And I was out," Renner said, "We discovered they worked me too hard, too many hours, too many days in a row."
He decided it would be best to stay in Pittsburgh during the four-month shooting process, instead of flying back and forth to California.
"They have to treat me like a child actor," Renner joked, "The mayor of Kingstown is now like a 14-year-old."
However, this is not to say that he didn't gain some unexpected benefits from the accident. With a touch of dark humor, Renner joked the "eyeball that came out of [his] head" might have granted him photographic memory.
"I have better vision in that eye than the other eye," the Hawkeye actor added, "I think I'm getting bionic."
READ MORE: Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice Rumored to Have 'Oscars Potential' After Cannes Premiere
What Being Back on Mayor of Kingstown Means for Renner
Renner says that his role as Mike McLusky "worked with where I am personally in my life."
"There's a heaviness and huge change to the character," he says of Mike's mourning the death of a family member as part of the season's opening.
The actor admitted he is also working on a book about "life and death and recovery and all the things I've learned," so he is open to sharing some "cheat codes" he figured out in his lifetime.
"I got a lot of cheat codes." Renner went on to explain that one of them happens to be his near-death experience: "Death is only a rebirth."
After recently posting about getting to run again, he added he likes to think of the snowcat that nearly killed him as a "bat signal" that "symbolized [a] deep love" for him, "It is eternal. It is powerful. And it's what kept me here."
READ NEXT: 7 Harry Styles Fanfic-Based Movies Ranked From Worst to Somewhat Best
Meanwhile, Mayor of Kingstown season 3 premieres on Paramount+ on June 2.
Make sure to follow our official Facebook page for more news and explainer articles about your favorite films and TV shows!
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!