Jeremy Renner is out, about, and definitely not setting any snowplows ablaze, no siree. At the premiere festivities for his new show, Rennervations, Tuesday night, Renner said during a panel discussion that he’s not going to exact revenge on the snowplow involved in the January accident that left the actor with more than 30 broken bones and in critical condition. Renner was crushed by the Snowcat on New Year’s Day while clearing snow on his property in Nevada, and is now making appearances with mobility aides like canes and scooters, both of which he employed at Tuesday’s event.
The 52-year-old actor said that he didn’t blame the snowplow for the accident, he blamed himself. In fact, he loves the snowplow. He’s committed to it.
“My mom wants to light it on fire and have a big old party lighting it on fire, but the thing is amazing, and I love it,” he said. “It’s a necessity.”
Let’s zoom in on this last bit, and what it tells us. Namely, that Renner is, in his heart of hearts, a dad. Not a daddy, and certainly not a zaddy, but a dad. Does he have kids? Yes, he has a 10-year-old daughter, but that’s not what makes him a cultural dad. The fact that he’s gushing about his snowplow (“amazing!”) and that he’s like, well, I can’t get rid of my snowplow, what would I plow my snow with?—that’s dad stuff.
More dad stuff: The show is called Rennervations. It’s about Jeremy Renner doing renovations, so, sure, what else would it be called, but it’s an Onion-worthy feat of dad-jokery. It takes a lot of people to make a TV show, from the camera crew and editors and production assistants to the caterers churning out grilled cheese sandwiches for the crafty table and the social media editors drafting copy to promote the thing. There is an army of talented folks out there who are adding that Rennervations line to their credits, and I bet Jeremy Renner is proud of them.
I’d now like to draw the jury’s attention to Exhibit 4A, pages 32 and 33 of the hardcover edition of Dr. Seuss’ Hop on Pop.
Now, you may think that this passage refers to the glum orange dog (?? Is it a dog? In a necktie? If so, counsel wonders why the child-dogs are also wearing neckties, but this is a question for another day) slumped in the blue armchair in the accompanying illustration, but it’s also an apt descriptor for Renner’s long-running Avengers character, Hawkeye. The bow-wielding superhero first appeared in comics in 1964 (Tales of Suspense No. 57, to be exact), and Hop on Pop’s original copyright was issued in 1963. I believe that’s what science refers to as synergy. Hawkeye, whose human name is Clint Barton, has recently been featured on-screen performing acts of vengeance in honor of his wife and kids, who disappeared during the Blip. They came back, of course, but “what a day Dad had!” indeed.
The actor is separate from the role, of course, but it does add to the general aura of dad-ness surrounding Renner. Plus, as a reminder, his new show is fully about him being a frequent Home Depot customer.
Look a little further back, and you’ll recall Renner’s app, Jeremy Renner Official. He wanted a virtual space for his fans to hang out, just a nice place where we could all get along, but the trolls ultimately won, and Renner pulled this car over, right now, and shut down the app in 2019. In a handwriting-font farewell note, he said that “the app has jumped the shark. Literally.” Dad.
An archetypical dad is not the same as a zaddy or a daddy, by the way. Pedro Pascal is a zaddy, as anyone who has seen clips of him dancing knows, and Friday Night Lights’ Coach Taylor is a daddy. The difference between the categories is subtle, but like pornography, you’ll know it when you see it.
Being a dad isn’t a negative thing, by any means. We embrace the earnestness and the effort, the practicality and commitment to landscaping equipment. Sure, Jeremy Renner could honor his mother’s wishes and set the Snowcat ablaze, but he’s not going to. He could get a new snowplow, we assume, but why would he, when he has a perfectly good one already?
“I just gotta learn to drive it better,” he said.