Jeremy Renner Says He Left ‘Mission: Impossible’ Franchise To Be A Dad

Jeremy Renner said as much as he loved working with Tom Cruise and others that were part of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, he had to walk away from it so he could be a dad.

Speaking to Collider, the 53-year-old actor said working on “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” in 2011 and “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” in 2015 was a great experience, but because of the films’ schedule, he stopped doing it so he could spend time with his family and now 11-year-old daughter Ava — whom he shares with his ex-wife Sonni Pacheco.

“I had to leave that [franchise],” Renner told the outlet. “It requires a lot of time away. It’s all in London. I had to go be a dad. It just wasn’t gonna work out then.”

“I was supposed to do more with them,” he added. “I love those guys. I love Tom [Cruise] so much. We had so much fun, and I love that character a lot.”

When asked if maybe he could return to the franchise now that his “daughter is older,” Renner admitted it “could happen.”

“I’d always jump into a ‘Mission: Impossible’ anytime and back into [IMF agent William] Brandt,” he added. “It’s great.”

The comments echoed ones the actor made in 2021 to Men’s Health magazine, when he explained that he was willing to walk away from his Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Clint Barton/Hawkeye because the busy filming schedule was making it hard to see his daughter.

“It taught me how to have the nuts to say, ‘Everyone, f*** off. It’s my time with my daughter,'” Renner said of the ultimatum he gave Marvel execs at the time.

“I said, ‘Fine, recast me. I’m going to be here with my daughter.’ It was pretty gnarly,” he added.

“Acting and everything else goes out the window,” Renner continued. “Until my daughter says, ‘I want to hang out with my friends, and I don’t want to be around you so much, Daddy.'”

In January 2023, Renner was nearly crushed under a 14,300-pound snowcat in an accident near his Nevada home. Over the last year, he’s undergone extensive therapy in order to recover from the accident that left him with more than 30 broken bones.

The actor recently talked about the life-threatening injuries he sustained in the accident and said, “Not one doctor, early on, said ‘You’re gonna pull through, you’re gonna be able to see again, you’re gonna be able to walk again, you’re gonna be able to breathe right, you’re gonna be able to talk,'” The Hollywood Reporter reported.

“No one gave me anything,” he added. “I think they were all communicating with my family. And I feel like if they didn’t tell me it must have been pretty bleak.”

“The Avengers” star said when he heard there would be limitations to his recovery, it only fueled him to get back on his feet faster