Nearly three years after his near-fatal accident, Jeremy Renner is feeling “much stronger, much clearer, happier,” he exclusively told The Post.
Renner, 54, stars in “Mayor of Kingstown,” returning for Season 4 on Paramount+ on Sunday, Oct 26.
Co-created by “Yellowstone” mastermind Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, the show is set in the fictional Kingstown, Michigan, a company town rooted in the business of prison. There, the McLusky family, led by Mike (Renner) mediates between the various factions of cops, prisoners, prison guards and street gangs.
“Season 3 was the one where I was pretty affected. That was really a year off the incident. Two years off of it, this season, I’m much stronger, much clearer, happier, more awake and attentive. So yeah, we really enjoyed this experience,” Renner said about filming the new episodes.
On New Year’s Day in 2023, the “Avengers” actor was outside his Nevada residence where he saved his then-27-year-old nephew from being hit by a snowplow. Renner was crushed by the 14,000 pound machine himself.
The Oscar-nominated actor sustained over 30 broken bones, including 14 broken ribs, a spinal fracture, a broken tibia, a punctured lung, a sliced liver, a broken and dislocated collarbone and a major head laceration.
His brutal ordeal and recovery caused him to question his “ability to be able to do fiction,” Renner told The Post. “But this season, it was a lot more enjoyable. I found a voice to get back into entertainment, which was so far away from my life, prior to that.”
The “Hawkeye” star said, “I don’t know if I’ve gotten any more insight because of what I had been through, but at least I’m happy enough to – and I’m blessed enough to – still continue doing what I love to do.”
Renner said that he can relate to how Mike’s “family is his baseline.”
“I like his selflessness,” he explained. “That’s something that I think is relatable to me.”
In the new season, Mike goes head-to-head with new prison warden, Nina (Edie Falco).
“Mayor of Kingstown” is a return to form for Falco, 62, as one of her most iconic roles was co-starring on “The Sopranos” as Tony’s (James Gandolfini) wife, Carmela.
“Carmela was who she was based on her relationship to a very powerful man,” Falco exclusively told The Post. “She was powerful in her own right, but, by virtue of the fact that she was married to Tony.”
In comparison, “Nina is a self-made woman,” Falco said. “I think her power is her own, and it comes from something that she does, and that she does well. It’s power nonetheless. It’s a sense of confidence and unshakable in who you are. They certainly are very different.”
Renner and Falco have many tense scenes in Season 4 of “Mayor of Kingstown,” as Mike and Nina often have different agendas.
Renner described their relationship as “a lot of fun” — with a dose of “athletic” verbal sparring.
He quipped: “[It’s] chess moves.”
