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Jeremy Renner is getting real—and surprisingly funny—about his near-fatal snowplow accident and the tough recovery that followed. In his new memoir, My Next Breath, the actor shares deeply personal stories from his healing journey, including some surreal side effects from his pain medication—like full-blown hallucinations of Jamie Foxx.
Renner, 54, writes that while he was on strong meds like opioids and benzodiazepines, his mind started playing tricks on him. At one point, he was so out of it that he believed Jamie Foxx was regularly visiting his room. “Jamie Foxx was in my room quite a bit (he wasn’t),” he wrote. “We talked about this and that… we went snowmobiling together (we didn’t — there’s no snow in Southern California).”
As wild as those moments sound, Renner reflects on them with humor and warmth. He says those imagined conversations—even though they never happened—felt real and comforting at the time. In fact, knowing that Foxx also went through a recent health scare of his own made the whole thing feel weirdly meaningful. Renner even joked that he hoped he had somehow “been there for” Foxx in a spiritual or cosmic way.
These vivid hallucinations started while Renner was recovering at home after being crushed by a 14,000-pound snowplow on New Year’s Day 2023. Once he switched from IV drugs to oral painkillers, the side effects kicked in big time. His family—especially his mom and sister, Kym—would hear him talking out loud to no one and just chalk it up to the meds. “Jeremy’s just tripping right now,” he remembers them saying.
Eventually, Renner decided he’d had enough. He wanted his mind back and chose to stop all pain meds cold turkey—a risky move and definitely not what doctors recommended. The withdrawal was brutal. He describes crying uncontrollably, shivering, and doing whatever he could to stay calm for nearly two days. While he occasionally took small doses to ease the transition, he says once he pushed through, things started to improve.
What stands out in My Next Breath isn’t just the intense pain and bizarre hallucinations—it’s Renner’s honesty and determination. He doesn’t shy away from how hard it was, but he also finds room to laugh at the weirdest parts. His story is equal parts emotional, absurd, and inspiring—a true reminder of the strength it takes to heal after trauma.