Jeremy Renner Says Marvel, 'Hurt Locker' Costar Anthony Mackie 'Was at My Bedside' After Snowplow Injury

Renner's The Hurt Locker costars Mackie and Evangeline Lilly both visited him in Reno, Nevada, following the Jan. 1 accident

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 09: (L-R) Actors Brian Geraghty, Jeremy Renner, and Anthony Mackie pose for a portrait during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival held at the Sutton Place Hotel on September 9, 2008 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage)
Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie in 2008. Photo: fJeff Vespa/WireImage

Jeremy Renner had a fellow Avenger by his side as he recovered from his Jan. 1 snowplow accident.

During the 52-year-old's interview with Diane Sawyer, which aired on ABC Thursday, Renner said that Anthony Mackie, his costar in 2009's Academy Award-winning movie The Hurt Locker and fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe actor, "was there at my bedside" as he recovered from his injuries.

"It's the actions," Renner responded when Sawyer, 77, asked about "the best thing anyone said to you" in the wake of the accident.

"Mackie was there at my bedside in Reno," the actor added, as the broadcast highlighted kind words sent from Renner's Marvel costars Chris Evans, Chris Pratt and Evangeline Lilly.

Renner even showed Sawyer that he still has an Avengers tattoo on the back of his neck that survived the ordeal.

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Jeremy Renner Diane Sawyer Interview
Jeremy Renner. abc

A number of Renner's Marvel costars sent him well wishes in the days following the accident. As Sawyer referenced during Thursday night's broadcast, Evans, 41, reacted to Renner's first social-media posts about his recovery with a lighthearted response.

"That's one tough mf'er," the 2022 PEOPLE Sexiest Man Alive wrote on Twitter Jan. 22, after Renner posted a photograph of himself in a bed receiving what appeared to be physical therapy.

He then jokingly asked, "Has anyone even checked on the snowcat???" referring to the PistenBully vehicle that was involved in Renner's accident, before concluding, "Sending so much love," with a single red heart emoji.

Lilly, who also costarred in The Hurt Locker and stars as Hope van Dyne/Wasp to Renner's Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the MCU, told Access in February that the actor "has recovered like a mo-fo" just over one month after the accident.

"I walked in his house and got chicken skin, 'cause I was like, 'Why are you mobile? Why are you mobile? What's happening?' I expected to sit at his bedside and hold his hand while he moaned and groaned in pain and wasn't able to move," said the actress, 43, at the time. "He was wheeling himself around, laughing with his friends. It's a miracle, a straight-up miracle."

RELATED VIDEO: Evangeline Lilly Gives Update on Jeremy Renner's Recovery: In a Wheelchair, "Laughing" with Friends

The New Year's Day accident resulted in Renner suffering "blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries" and breaking 30-plus bones, requiring him to undergo multiple surgeries as a result.

He was initially left in "critical but stable condition" after his snowplow (said to weigh at least 14,330 lbs.) ran him over while he was helping a family member get a "stuck" vehicle out of the snow.

"If I was there, on my own, that would've been a horrible way to die," Renner told Sawyer in a clip from the interview shared by Good Morning America on Wednesday. "And surely, I would've. Surely."

"But I wasn't alone — [I was with] my nephew. Sweet Alex. And the rest of the calvary came," he added.

Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview — A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph will be available to stream on Hulu Friday.

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