Los Angeles, Feb 19 (IANS): Hollywood star Jeremy Renner took the stage at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday to introduce the first award of the night at the recently concluded People’s Choice Awards.

He helped his fellow Marvel star Simu Liu kick off the ceremony, more than 13 months after the snow-plough accident that left Renner in critical condition. “Gotta say, it feels good to be back”, Renner, 53, told the audience after walking out to thunderous applause, reports People magazine.

He said: “This year’s been a heck of a journey and I’m happy to be here with you, the fans. You guys are the best. You guys really brought this year. You broke records. You turned movies into movements. We heard you all loud and clear, we heard you.”

The dad of 10-year-old daughter Ava then turned to introducing the nominees for TV performance of the year.

“Right now I get the privilege of celebrating the most powerful movie performances on screen,” Renner continued. “So, are you ready for the first award of the night?”

As per People, Renner announced that Billie Eilish beat out Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story's Adjoa Andoh, Ayo Edebiri from The Bear, The Morning Show's Jon Hamm, Matt Bomer of Fellow Travelers, Only Murders in the Building's Meryl Streep, Steven Yeun from Beef and Storm Reid of The Last of Us for her performance in Swarm.

As Eilish, 22, made her way to the stage to accept her award, Renner stepped back and hugged his Avengers co-star Tom Hiddleston — who gave him a standing ovation earlier — as he headed backstage. Hiddleston, 43, went on to accept the sci-fi/fantasy show of the year for Loki.