Photo: Ture Lillegraven for Men's Health
It’s a cliché, but it’s true: most celebrities, whether they’re musicians, actors or influencers, love car hoarding. Few of them are true collectors and connoisseurs, and the majority will just buy any new model just because they can afford it.
So, while many celebrity car collections are impressive, they essentially lack heart and are merely displays of wealth. Not so with actor Jeremy Renner. He is still a car guy, but there’s a very surprising twist to it. He has over 200 vehicles at his ranch in Nevada, but few of them are cars.
Renner, mostly known for his Oscar-nominated role in The Hurt Locker and the ever-popular Marvel franchise The Avengers, where he plays Hawkeye, is now promoting the latter role in the Disney+ spinoff series. In October, he sat down for a chat with Men’s Health for this month’s issue and, among other things, he talked about his passion for buying, collecting and fixing old vehicles like firetrucks, ambulances, and vans.
He has over 200 of them at his ranch above Lake Tahoe, where he retired several years ago and which he calls the Nevadahome. Many are firetrucks, bought at online auctions during the lockdowns of 2020; Renner estimates he has over 30 of them, all of them potentially capable to put out fires. He fixed them up himself, and some, he modified for other purposes. One, for instance, is a party-mobile with a bounce-house on top. It also has slurpee and snow-cone machines and is ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Renner also has a soft spot for old vans, ambulances, or buses, all of which he buys for a purpose he envisions the moment he sets eyes on them. In his hands, ambulances become mobile veterinary clinics, while old city buses are upgraded to tiny homes and glamping establishments, mobile barbershops, or mobile gyms. “It isn’t a horse ranch,” Renner says of his home. “It’s more of a horsepower ranch.”
Renner is obviously good with his hands, as his fans must know already. Acting is his second job, even now that he’s attained worldwide fame: he also runs a house-flipping business, has trained as a firefighter, and worked as a makeup artist. One thing he simply won’t do is get his own tequila brand like many other actors have done. “I bought a bunch of fire trucks. So f**k you, Ryan Reynolds or George Clooney, or whoever. I’ll come put out the fire on your agave farm,” he laughs.
Renner, mostly known for his Oscar-nominated role in The Hurt Locker and the ever-popular Marvel franchise The Avengers, where he plays Hawkeye, is now promoting the latter role in the Disney+ spinoff series. In October, he sat down for a chat with Men’s Health for this month’s issue and, among other things, he talked about his passion for buying, collecting and fixing old vehicles like firetrucks, ambulances, and vans.
He has over 200 of them at his ranch above Lake Tahoe, where he retired several years ago and which he calls the Nevadahome. Many are firetrucks, bought at online auctions during the lockdowns of 2020; Renner estimates he has over 30 of them, all of them potentially capable to put out fires. He fixed them up himself, and some, he modified for other purposes. One, for instance, is a party-mobile with a bounce-house on top. It also has slurpee and snow-cone machines and is ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Renner also has a soft spot for old vans, ambulances, or buses, all of which he buys for a purpose he envisions the moment he sets eyes on them. In his hands, ambulances become mobile veterinary clinics, while old city buses are upgraded to tiny homes and glamping establishments, mobile barbershops, or mobile gyms. “It isn’t a horse ranch,” Renner says of his home. “It’s more of a horsepower ranch.”
Renner is obviously good with his hands, as his fans must know already. Acting is his second job, even now that he’s attained worldwide fame: he also runs a house-flipping business, has trained as a firefighter, and worked as a makeup artist. One thing he simply won’t do is get his own tequila brand like many other actors have done. “I bought a bunch of fire trucks. So f**k you, Ryan Reynolds or George Clooney, or whoever. I’ll come put out the fire on your agave farm,” he laughs.
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