Jeremy Renner on Resilience: Oktane 2025 Keynote

Jeremy Renner’s appearance at the Oktane 2025 conference provided a powerful look into the resilience that defines his life, both on and off the screen. The actor’s closing keynote for the event’s first day moved beyond typical tech talk, offering a deeply personal narrative about identity, purpose, and overcoming profound challenges.

For Renner, his most significant role is not one played for cameras but one lived every day: being a father. He became a dad at 42, and from that moment, his daughter Ava became his absolute priority. He has consciously limited his professional commitments to ensure he is present for her, firmly stating that no job or movie is more important than his family. This perspective reshaped his entire career trajectory after he landed the part of Hawkeye following the success of The Hurt Locker. He described joining the Marvel universe as a surreal experience, akin to a “Halloween party,” and he deeply values the family-like bond formed with the original Avengers over more than a decade.

Action, for Renner, is a core life principle representing the direct opposite of complacency. He finds immense joy in overcoming obstacles and believes that our actions, more than our words, truly define who we are. This mindset is rooted in the struggles of his early career, a time when he lived on just a few dollars a month. He credits those difficult experiences with giving his later successes their real value, stating that the relief and strength gained from overcoming adversity provide the greatest sense of worth, far surpassing fame or awards. His discovery of acting in junior college, following his father’s advice to explore different paths without fear of failure, set him on a blessed 30-year career path.

The birth of his daughter was a transformative moment, particularly the experience of the ‘Palmer’s reflex,’ which made him understand what he calls “real love” and gave him a powerful sense of purpose. This strengthened his connection to his own large, extended family, which is so big it requires buses for outings. That family unity has now found a shared purpose through his foundation, which supports foster youth. Instead of traditional family gatherings, they now host camps for kids, making philanthropy their primary way of sharing love and spending time together.

Renner also spoke candidly about the highly publicized accident he suffered on New Year’s Day. Initially uncomfortable with the attention, he came to see it as an opportunity to share his experience, leading to what he describes as a “humanization” and a “real connection” with people that afforded him a new sense of purpose. His resilience is supported by personal mantras like “I’ll never have a bad day for the rest of my life,” “milestones over tombstones,” and “Information is what squelches fear.” He attributes his ability to be honest and resilient to the “safe landing spot of love” his family provides.

He offered a critique of modern society, suggesting it is set up for laziness. Renner argues that truly good things are difficult and require actively challenging oneself, using cold plunges as an example of a beneficial yet unpleasant practice. This extends to his concerns about technology, specifically the criminal use of AI. He revealed a disturbing reality: there are approximately 2,500 active scam accounts using his voice and likeness to defraud people attempting to donate to his foundation. While AI can be a great tool, he views its potential for harm and its capacity to make people lazier as significant dangers. This vulnerability is especially acute for nonprofits, which, as the interviewer noted, are the second most attacked sector by cybercriminals due to often limited IT resources.

Looking forward, Renner’s plans are driven by clear intention. His future is focused on three pillars: his family, the nationwide growth of his nonprofit for foster youth, and continuing his work on his television show. His journey underscores a powerful message that true security and identity are built on a foundation of purpose, love, and the courage to take action.

(Source: ITWire Australia)