Jeremy Renner remembers late Chris Cornell as an 'amazing' singer

Jeremy Renner was among those who were stunned when Chris Cornell was found dead in his hotel room on May 18. The former Soundgarden vocalist reportedly died from apparent suicide by hanging. The news of his passing came as a shock to his co-artists and fans, who saw how the singer struggled with depression and addiction in the past.

Renner recalls first encounter with Cornell

Two months after his death, Jeremy Renner recalled how he was given the opportunity to meet the rock icon through his friends, Josh Brolin and Andrew Michael Cooper. The award-winning actor, who is also a singer, remembered Chris Cornell as an "amazing" musician and person.

"I was just glad to have any experience with Chris," he told ET Online. "He was one of the reasons why I never wanted to be a singer because that voice that he had was...I almost hate the guy,"

When asked about Chris Cornell's passing, Jeremy Renner explained that death by suicide is a difficult thing to accept and thought that people should learn from cases like this to understand and cope up with the loss of a loved one.

"You just kind of get saddened by stuff like that. And try to learn and grow from those experiences," the actor said.

Fame as a primary cause of depression among artists

After losing a legendary artist in Chris Cornell, the rock industry has lost another gem when Chester Bennington died by hanging himself on July 20, which coincided with Chris Cornell's birthday. According to reports, the Linkin Park vocalist was all alone at his private residence when he took his own life. He was only 41 years old.

The passing of these two iconic singers has raised the concern of celebrities and singers, who saw how fame and a hectic lifestyle can affect the mental health of a person. Elton John, in a recent interview, remembered Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington and shared his thoughts about artists killing their own lives.

"You know artists are prone to being a little destructive, whether you are an actor or singer or visual artist," he said as cited by Metro.

The "Your Song" crooner said sometimes artists feel like everything is just too much to handle which eventually lead to depression, and worse, suicide. One Republic, on the other hand, paid tribute to Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington in their Billboard interview over the weekend.

Ryan Tedder and Eddie Fisher recalled how Soundgarden has influenced them when they were still starting out as a band. "He was the first hero that we actually made friends with, got to hang with and have dinners with him and his family at their place in Paris," the One Republic frontman said of Chris Cornell.